In short:
The WA government originally pledged to build a dialysis centre in Halls Creek within the parliamentary term but that time frame has been abandoned.
The $24 million dollar facility was an election promise, but it is expected the cost will have dramatically blown out.
What's next?
Indigenous health leaders say the project needs to be a priority given the high rates of kidney disease in the region.
The WA government has walked away from a pledge to build a dialysis centre in Halls Creek within this term of government, blaming COVID-19 and once-in-a-century flooding for the delay.
While the Cook government insisted it would fulfil its promise, the absence of a timeline has fuelled accusations it is not prioritising the project it originally spruiked to win votes.
Former premier Mark McGowan announced the facility during a trip to Broome in January 2021 while campaigning to ensure the seat of Kimberley remained in Labor's hands.
He said the $24 million, 20-bed renal hostel would have eight dialysis machines, cater for up to 32 patients, and include accommodation for staff.
Local Indigenous health leaders lobbied for the facility to ensure residents in Halls Creek and the surrounding communities, 2,600 kilometres north of Perth, could receive life-saving treatment without having to leave their family and country.
The Kimberley maintains some of the highest rates of kidney disease in Australia.
In late 2021, then Minister for Health Roger Cook told the ABC in a statement that the government was committed to building the renal centre within the parliamentary term.
In February this year, the minister's office said that statement still stood, but in a press conference in Kununurra in June, Mr Cook all but confirmed it was unachievable.
Delays frustration
Local Indigenous health leaders are frustrated by the slow progress, saying the government has failed to meaningfully consult.
Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS) said the proposed Halls Creek facility was a crucial addition to its large regional network of operations, which were under strain from increasing demand.
In a statement to the ABC, chief executive Vicki O'Donnell criticised comments current Minister for Health Amber-Jade Sanderson made in a parliamentary committee in May.
The minister said the government was working with the relevant Indigenous health organisations in the Kimberley on the "model of delivery".
Ms O'Donnell said there had been no formal meeting between state government representatives and KAMS or the locally based Yura Yungi Medical Service in the past 18 months.
"I'm disappointed … it seems the minister has been ill-advised," she said.
"Along with the Halls Creek community, I am concerned that there was no allocation in the recent state budget for the total project to build a renal centre, renal hostel, and staff accommodation.
"More broadly, I am also concerned that the state government will fail to deliver on their Kidney Disease Strategy."
Yura Yungi Medical Service chief executive Brenda Garstone said she knew of 28 patients who would prefer treatment in the town.
"Even with services available in other Kimberley towns, people are having to move off-country for treatment," she said.
Ms Garstone said all the centres were at capacity.
"The need for dialysis is significant and it's getting bigger," she said.
"There is a proven need to provide services from Halls Creek."
Ms Garstone said the delivery of a single state-funded home dialysis chair in the town was completely inadequate.
Government blames COVID, floods
The state government declined to comment on whether the project's original cost, bed, and chair numbers remained the same or give a delivery timeline.
Leaders expected the facility's original $24 million budget would dramatically blow out in line with other Kimberley projects in recent years.
A government spokesperson said it provided $900,000 for the WA Country Health Service to plan for the project.
It also provided $1 million towards additional dialysis support across the Kimberley, which included a single chair in Halls Creek.
The spokesperson said preparatory work for the renal centre was underway.
"There is a higher prevalence of complex cases in Halls Creek, which means we need to deliver a more comprehensive wrap-around service," the spokesperson said.
"Since this commitment was made, we've experienced a global pandemic and a one-in-100-year flooding event in the Kimberley, the worst flooding disaster in our state's history, which have both had a material impact on the local construction market."
Opposition lashes 'excuses'
Shadow Minister for Regional Health Martin Aldridge said the government's "excuses" were rapidly wearing thin with regional and remote residents.
"The government doesn't seem to have the same problem when they're expanding Metronet to every suburb in Perth at a cost of $12 billion," he said.
"With a $3.2 billion operating surplus, they like to talk about how good they are at building the bridge across the Fitzroy River in less than 12 months.
"It would be great if they were also gloating about how good they were at delivering renal dialysis care in Halls Creek."