$500 MILLION RURAL HEALTH BOOST

I am thrilled with the announcement of $1 million for planning for the Wagga Wagga Health and Knowledge Precinct.

I have been involved with this project for number of years. It has been a focus of mine, and something I have lobbied for, since I was elected to Parliament.

This is a great step forward and has come after a lot of work. I want to particularly acknowledge chair of the precinct committee, Neil Mangelsdorf, along with Michael Keys and Wagga Wagga City Council, Jill Ludford and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Zoe Terpening from the University of NSW and all the members of the committee.

The Health and Knowledge Precinct is something that I have discussed with Premier Dominic Perrottet, Deputy Premier Paul Toole and Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, over the past three weeks. I also spoke about it in Parliament. You can read my statement here.

I believe that all were impressed with the work done so far and the genuine collaboration shown by the members of the health and education sectors as well as the opportunities this initiative could open up.

The precinct has the potential to improve services in the region, train the health workforce we need locally and, through research, come up with solutions to health challenges.

This has the potential to be a real first for regional NSW and a breakthrough for rural health.