And rightly so. A viable case - in terms of need and finances - has never come close to being made for a stand-alone, community-run, self-sustaining hospice here in the Highlands, or anywhere else in NSW for that matter. Instead, both sides of politics have sensibly supported much-needed upgrades to Bowral Hospital and greater provision of home-based palliative care.

Meanwhile, the futile pursuit of a SHCH has entered its 10th year, and continues to erode the charity dollars that would otherwise go to worthwhile causes in the Highlands. The latest figures (June 2018) recently published on the ACNC website reveal a improper picture. Their four shops are returning a trading profit of just $242,000 on turnover of $661,000 - and that's with all floor stock donated.

SHCH has now pulled in four million dollars' worth of charitable giving from local donors, spent two million, and has just two million left in hand. What is there to show for all this expenditure? Nothing save for a bundle of architect's plans for a grandiose $12 million hospice on land they don't own.

The money has largely gone on shop rent ($212,000 for the year) and salary for a General Manager ($137,000 annually). Money spent on 'Project Costs' so far is $173,000, mostly for consultants. And last year, the SHCH spent $34,000 on a 'feasibility study', which has not been released to the public. So much for transparency, yet the fundraising goes on. It's obvious where this money should have been better spent - on supporting and expanding our proven facilities for end-of-life care.

The SHCH project must stop now - or change direction.