Enough is enough: Gundagai Branch calls time on the rural health crisis
Regional communities deserve the same healthcare as every other Australian
People living in regional, rural and remote NSW have been expected to settle for less healthcare for far too long—and the Country Women’s Association of NSW says it’s time to stop accepting the unacceptable.
Launching its 2026 Awareness Week campaign, the CWA of NSW is calling on the NSW Government to commit to practical reforms that deliver better healthcare closer to home. Awareness Week ran from September 6 to 12, focused on a simple message: Stop normalising the rural health crisis. Start fixing it.
The CWA is:
• Calling on the NSW Government to improve access to quality healthcare for people living in regional, rural and remote NSW by supporting the adoption and implementation of The Rural Health Action Plan.
• The Plan, authored by Dr Joe McGirr, 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. It is built on the recommendations of a major parliamentary inquiry by the NSW Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Remote, Rural and Regional Health.
• The Plan is designed to ensure:
• Every rural community has access to a local GP and flexible team-based primary healthcare
•Restoration of maternity services so more women can give birth closer to home
• Building of permanent rural health workforces rather than relying on costly short-term locum doctors
• Local communities have a greater voice in decisions about their health services
• Establishing an independent Rural Health Commissioner to improve accountability
• Better integration between hospitals, general practice, councils and community health services.
• Advocating for increased public understanding of the challenges faced by regional, rural and remote communities in NSW when it comes to access health services.
Jessica Butler of the Gundagai branch of the CWA of NSW, said these experiences have become so common they are now being treated as normal.
“Our members have watched local services disappear, maternity units close, and healthcare professionals become harder and harder to access. Communities have become conditioned to accept these changes as inevitable and we refuse to accept that,” said Jessica Butler
“For thousands of families outside metropolitan NSW, accessing healthcare has become increasingly difficult. Finding a GP can take weeks. Specialist appointments often require hours of travel. Expectant mothers are forced to leave their communities to give birth. Older Australians travel hundreds of kilometres for routine appointments, while many delay seeking treatment altogether because of the cost, time and distance involved.
“People in regional and rural NSW deserve the same timely access to doctors, hospitals and essential healthcare services as anyone living in Sydney. Where you live should never determine the quality of healthcare you receive,” Jessica Butler said.
The Association’s call follows findings from the 2026 CWA of NSW Annual Women’s Survey, which identified access to healthcare as one of the biggest issues affecting women across the state. Respondents highlighted ongoing shortages of local GPs, closed patient books, lengthy waits for specialists, rising out-of-pocket costs and the increasing burden of travelling long distances simply to access basic healthcare.
The CWA of NSW says these stories reflect a broader pattern of inequity affecting regional communities every day. Rather than calling for another review, the CWA of NSW is urging the NSW Government to implement practical reforms already identified through the Rural Health Action Plan.
The plan proposes six key reforms that would improve access to healthcare across regional NSW built on the recommendations of a major parliamentary inquiry by the NSW Legislative Assembly Select Committee on Remote, Rural and Regional Health.
“This isn’t about asking for something extraordinary – the solutions already exist. It’s about ensuring quality healthcare is available regardless of your postcode. Every family deserves that,” Jessica Butler said.
Throughout the CWA of NSW Awareness Week, branches across the state encouraged members, communities and decision-makers to support practical action that delivers better healthcare for regional, rural and remote communities. Included in this year’s Awareness Week was the ongoing call on the state government to convert the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s one-off $15 million grant for 2025–26 into ongoing annual funding.
“The rural health crisis has been normalised for too long. It’s time we stopped accepting it—and started fixing it,” Jessica Butler said.
In Gundagai we are very lucky to have wonderful doctors, nurses and paramedics who provide not only our town but the surrounding areas with health services however these health care professionals are also facing challenges in their abilities to continue to provide this amazing level of care.
Gundagai has an award-winning medical centre providing a wide range of health services and is one of the hospitals in our area to have access to a doctor most of the time compared to other facilities which must rely on services like RMCS (Remote Medical Consultation Service) to help with the diagnosis and treatment of patients.
Although all issues cannot be resolved at Gundagai Hospital, having this facility available to us helps to start emergency care when needed instead of having to drive the distance to Wagga Wagga before receiving this care.
Rural and remote areas are being left behind by the government, which not only affects the people who live in the area but those who treat us. At times it may seem like we are on opposite sides where in reality this health issue affects us all.
The South West Slopes Times covers an area approximately the size of Fiji in country NSW. We look after a population of more than 50,000 people with our staff servicing 7 major towns and dozens of villages with our story telling footprint.
We offer weekly print editions at $3 a copy and we also offer digital subscriptions across 3 months $30, 6 months $60 and 12 months $120.
We are one of the last truly local independent family run newspaper businesses in the state.
Contact us today to find out how we can promote your business or organisation across our huge network by emailing ads@thetimes.net.au or by calling 0413 763 216.
If you have a news tip, lead or scoop for us please make contact as we love celebrating our communities. You can contribute articles via our South West Slopes Times website.
