A petition to split the Murrumbidgee Local Health District in two is now only 1500 signatures short of the 10,000 needed to trigger a parliamentary debate.
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NSW Member for Murray Helen Dalton has been working on the split bill for more than a year, and is now urging the district to help get it over the line.
“A parliamentary debate matters because it forces the health system to be examined in public - not behind closed doors,” Mrs Dalton said.
“It puts service withdrawals, workforce shortages, travel distances, and outcomes for Western Riverina communities on the official record.
“Structural change is the only path to better outcomes. Local control means decisions made for our communities, not filtered through a system designed around somewhere else.
“If you want your name counted — or you want to help push this over the line — sign the petition.”
Mrs Dalton’s aim in splitting up the 125,243km² Wagga-based MLHD is to “provide proper local health care in her electorate”.
She proposes a new Western Riverina Health District covers Leeton to Balranald, including the communities and health services of Deniliquin, Jerilderie, Berrigan, Finley, Leeton, Griffith, Hay, Hillston, Lake Cargelligo, Balranald, Barham, Moulamein and Tocumwal.
The split would also put a stop to and rectify what she described as the consistent “downgrading” of rural and regional hospitals in favour of larger health services at Wagga Wagga and Albury.
Mrs Dalton started working on her MLHD split bill in February last year, and said Premier Chris Minns made a personal commitment to her before the last election to create a new health district in the Western Riverina.
She now wants him to honour it.
“The seat of Murray is the same size as Scotland. We need, and deserve, our own health district.
“We can’t continue to allow ourselves to be run by people who live hundreds of kilometres away and who simply don’t understand our health needs.”
A spokesperson for MLHD has previously said the health service was committed to providing timely, efficient and appropriate care to patients in every part of the district - regardless of its size.
“Wagga Wagga Base Hospital is the only rural referral-level facility in MLHD, and it serves as a vital hub for specialist healthcare services to every part of the district,” the spokesperson said.
“Splitting MLHD would have a detrimental impact on existing healthcare pathways and would see more patients needing to travel further from their homes to access appropriate care.”
The petition can be signed at Mrs Dalton’s Deniliquin electorate office in Cressy St.
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