The problem

People in rural and regional NSW are being failed by a health system that is under-resourced, unaccountable and dangerously dependent on short-term fixes.

Patients can’t get in to see a GP. Birthing units are closing. Emergency departments are stretched. Locum doctors are flown in at enormous public cost — but they leave as quickly as they arrive.

NSW Health acknowledges the problems, but continues to operate with a bureaucracy-first mindset and a lack of urgency. Community voices are ignored. Promises are made in principle and quietly shelved.

This isn’t a system that needs more reviews. It’s a system in need of reform that is practical, affordable and long overdue.

The solution

The Better Care, Closer to Home Alliance’s Rural Health Action Plan is built on the recommendations of a major parliamentary inquiry by the NSW Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Remote, Rural and Regional Health, which I chaired.

The Action Plan is a roadmap for turning things around — not with a big restructure with an unrealistic price tag, but simple, common-sense reforms that put people first and redirect funds to be more effective.

Show your support and let's fix rural health

June 2026: Highlights from Rural Health Action Plan Supporters Event at NSW Parliament House.

June 2026: Full recording of the Rural Health Action Plan Supporters Event at NSW Parliament House. Supporters joined parliamentarians to discuss the need for reform in the delivery of healthcare in regional, rural and remote NSW.

The Plan

Every town should have a doctor
→ Fund flexible, team-based models and train a local workforce
Safe, local maternity care
→ Reopen rural birthing units and expand midwife-led & culturally safe models
End the $270M locum merry-go-round
→ Redirect funds to permanent staffing, housing, and support
No more decisions made without the people affected
→ Mandate genuine consultation and embed communities in governance, including First Nations communities
Accountability, not just promises
→ Create an independent Rural Health Commissioner
Stop the gaps and handballs
→ Fund Rural Health Precincts and require collaboration between hospitals, GPs, and community care