The misinformation and lack of transparency?

This is my first opportunity to speak publicly about Edward River Council's decision to terminate Ochre Health's lease at the Deniliquin Medical Centre.

My concern is whether a decision affecting the healthcare of approximately 4,000 patients, was made with the level of due diligence, consultation and transparency required.

Until now, I have remained silent because I believed my concerns should first be raised directly with Council.

Despite practising medicine in Deniliquin for more than two decades, I was never asked for my opinion before this decision was made.

Not before.

Not during.

Not afterwards.

Earlier this week, I requested an urgent meeting with the Mayor and CEO because I wanted the opportunity to discuss my concerns and ask several important questions directly.

After serving this community as a GP for 25 years, I had expected the courtesy of a phone call following Council's decision to terminate the lease.

When that did not occur, I requested a meeting myself. Council was also aware that I intended to make a public statement, and I had hoped that meeting would provide greater clarity before doing so.

To this day, despite the mayor contacting other doctors within the community, I have not received a single phone call from either the Mayor or the CEO.

I have always tried to be open, transparent and willing to engage in constructive discussion. That remains my position today.

The CEO’s response to my request for a meeting was:

"At this point in time I personally do not believe there is any value to add by us catching up."

I find that response deeply offensive.

Ochre entered a commercial lease of premises with ERC in 2012 to conduct a GP practice.

For several years, concerns regarding Ochre's performance and compliance with the lease have been raised publicly by some within Council.

Those discussions largely occurred behind closed doors, while the doctors actually delivering healthcare were never asked for their professional opinion or practical insight regarding these supposed concerns.

In 2022, the lease was reviewed by the then CEO of ERC as an operational matter supported by independent legal advice.

Ochre has never been in arrears of rent.

This year, the same issue apparently returned to councillors for a vote, and an in-camera vote resulted in the lease being terminated more than a year before it was due to expire.

The vote was in camera, therefore the public, including Ochre and its staff are not privy to what was discussed or what supposed facts were presented to councillors.

It leaves me asking one simple question.

Why the rush?

Why terminate the lease before securing a confirmed replacement provider?

Why wasn't an Expression of Interest ready before the announcement?

Why weren't local doctors consulted?

Why weren't key health stakeholders consulted about the impact on patient care. For example, Deniliquin Hospital. Why were they not consulted about the impact of Ochre’s termination on patient care?

Most importantly, why did ERC assume that existing doctors and staff would simply move to a new provider without their prior knowledge; like they were ERC goods and chattels to move?

ERC seems to assume that the Ochre doctors and staff are their property to instruct and move as they please.

Healthcare is delivered by people—not buildings.

A simple conversation with all he doctors already caring for this community could have identified a lot of risks before the decision was made.

Instead, those selective conversations appear to have occurred only after the lease had been terminated.

ERC’s rash decision does not pass the pub test.

Why the misinformation?

I am equally concerned by some of the public statements that have followed.

Suggestions have been made that doctors at Ochre are directed to see patients in 15-minute appointments and that the practice is driven primarily by money.

As a doctor practising from the Deniliquin Medical Centre, I can say that is simply not my experience.

I am an independent contractor, as are my colleague GP’s.

I have complete control over my own appointment book.

No one tells me how long I should spend with my patients. I have no “instructions” regarding attaining certain amounts of earnings.

Fifteen-minute appointments are the standard booking interval used in most general practices throughout Deniliquin and across Australia.

They are simply a scheduling guide that allows practices to provide access to as many patients as possible.

Every day, appointment times are adjusted to suit individual patient needs. Some consultations take only a few minutes. Others take 30 minutes, 45 minutes or even longer. Every GP makes those decisions independently based on what is clinically appropriate.

There have also been several statements about billing in the Ochre Clinic.

The reality is that approximately 85% of patients attending the Deniliquin Medical Centre are bulk billed. Not exactly figures that would cause any new provider to salivate over, despite what Mr Anthony Albanese wants to spruik and have Australians believe.

That is difficult to reconcile with suggestions that patient care is primarily driven by financial considerations.

I am also concerned by statements regarding waiting times.

The longest routine waiting time was approximately four weeks, and that applied to one GP with a particularly large patient base. Patients always had the choice of seeing another doctor sooner.

Urgent appointments remained available every day, additional doctors had recently commenced practice, the books had reopened to new patients, and Ochre Anytime telehealth and Hotdoc online prescription services remained available.

No practice is perfect.

My concern is whether appropriate due diligence was undertaken before creating the risk.

Lourene Liebenberg and I recently wrote to every councillor asking three simple questions.

a. Were councillors provided with sufficient documented information before they voted?

b. Were the assumptions underpinning the proposed transition independently verified?

c. Are councillors satisfied the process demonstrated the level of governance, transparency and due diligence our community is entitled to expect?

To date, those questions remain unanswered.

ERC are persistent in publicly denouncing Ochre and their supposed shortcomings, which support the fact that they are trying to defend their rash decision.

Since the lease termination was announced, I believe Council has sought to justify its decision through public statements that contain misinformation and omit important context.

In my opinion, this has unfairly shifted attention away from the governance process and unfairly discredited Ochre Health and the local doctors, nurses and staff who have served our community."

You also must ask ‘why all this misinformation’? I believe it is a deflection from their lack of accountability, due diligence and governance- evident in these statements

These following statements were made at Q an A sessions and a social media post following the sessions.

Statement: "By June 2026, the situation had not significantly improved."

Fact: Since December 2025, three doctors joined the practice, including Dr Dumbrell, with two additional doctors commencing in the month immediately before Council terminated the lease.

Statement: "There were periods where the Centre was operating with fewer than two GPs."

Fact: December: 4 GPs. January: 4 GPs. Same-day appointments remained available through Ochre Anytime throughout this period.

Statement: "The Centre experienced temporary closures."

Fact: The practice closed for one day only during the entire lease period due to unforeseen circumstances. Ochre Anytime remained available to patients throughout that day. Note: Not uncommon for practices to close for whole days for training. Ochre has never done this.

Previous statement to Lourene Liebenberg: the practice closes over lunch time

Fact: The practice closes over lunch approximately once every six weeks for a whole-of-staff meeting. (note: some practices close every lunch time)

Moving forward: Will they also criticise any of the current GPs at Ochre if they do not join a new provider?

Despite everything that has happened, one thing has never changed.

The doctors of Deniliquin will continue to put our patients first, to the best of our abilities.

I simply believe our community deserves the same commitment to transparency, accountability and good governance from those entrusted with making decisions on its behalf.

Every rural medical practice faces recruitment challenges.

Council itself has acknowledged that reality.

My concern is not whether Council eventually finds a solution, but rather if they can wake up from their delusion about an ideal rural GP practice and be realistic.

I also think that these actions by ERC, when viewed by any similar rural towns in Australia, will make them the laughing stock of small rural councils.

• This article was contributed by Dr Albert Liebenberg, who has been a medical practitioner at Ochre Health since 2012.