It comes after a Sydney general practitioner purchased the building for $650,000 last month, an eye-watering 500 per cent jump in value from its $110,000 sale in 2014. 

Gundagai’s old Hospital and Community Health Centre at 28 O’Hagan Street, with five buildings and approximately 120 rooms, was flipped by a savvy speculator. 

Director of sales and investments at LJ Hooker Commercial Sydney Steven Kruyer said the state government’s decision to sell the hospital through a Gundagai agent was a costly mistake.

“The private owner (who bought in 2014) came to me in Sydney because I deal with a lot of high net worth individuals looking for those sorts of opportunities,” Mr Kruyer said.

“The regional agent wasn’t able to find the sort of client I have access to.”

Former Gundagai mayor Abb McAllister has claimed community leaders intended to establish a not-for-profit aged care centre on the site.

However, plans to house Gundagai’s elderly were abandoned when the health minister Jillian Skinner reportedly said the government would not sell for less than $400,000.

“We had great support from the community to put aged care units there because the Yeralda aged care hostel has a long waiting list,” Mr McAllister said.

“We went to Katrina Hodgkinson who went to Jillian Skinner and they said they wouldn't take any less than $400,000, which was too much given we would have had to demolish and rebuild.

“Lo and behold it was sold for $110,000.”

Ms Hodgkinson deflected questions late on Wednesday to NSW Ministry of Health staff, who are yet to respond to the claims. 

Cootamundra man Adrian Sykes claims his $120,000 offer in 2014 was rejected by the state government.

Mr Sykes said he was “amazed” to learn the government finally accepted $110,000 and then the property was privately onsold for six times more. 

“I’m not crying over spilled milk but the government has wasted public money,” he said. 

“Taxpayers have a right to know why the state coffers are half a million dollars lighter.”

Cootamundra agent Daryl Sedgwick, who sold the property in 2014, was not contactable and his colleagues at Ron Loiteron real estate declined to comment.