Member for Parkes Mark Coulton and Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt visited Wee Waa on Tuesday morning to inspect the town’s new medical professional housing site.

Two homes will be constructed at 101 Alma Street, thanks to a $304,000 injection from the federal government.

The funding boost is in addition to $150,000 contributed by the Narrabri Shire Council and $150,000 from the Wee Waa and District Aged Hostel committee and the Wee Waa Community Complex Incorporated group.

The Wee Waa Medical Professional Housing complex is one of 16 local projects awarded a grant under the third round of the federal government’s Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program.

The program supports communities impacted by water recovery under the MDB plan.

“This is about building resilience in those local irrigation communities that have been detrimentally affected by the plan and the loss of water,” Mr Pitt told The Courier.

“And things like this where we can help ensure a GP locally, for example, in a lot of other areas it’s about tourism, it’s about building alternative parts of the economy.

Mr Coulton said he’s delighted the federal government is helping the Wee Waa community.

It’s hoped the new housing will make the town a much more appealing location for all health professionals to seek work and embrace the many benefits of a country lifestyle.

“One of the more significant impediments to attracting medical professionals to rural communities is the lack of affordable, comfortable and appropriate accommodation,” Mr Coulton said.

“The committee’s intention is to construct purpose-built accommodation for use by professional medical staff who will service the local hospital and surrounding district, with the aim to secure more permanent doctors to the area.

“Improving the town’s medical services will help facilitate future socio-economic growth and development for the local community.

Wee Waa Community Complex Incorporated chair Andrew Greste said there has been a long-term need to get more doctors to the Wee Waa area.

“As part of this strategy the community decided to build accommodation tailored to meet the needs of medical professionals that service the Wee Waa District,” Mr Greste said.

“The project is to construct two houses located very close to the hospital, however, the community initially only had the ability to fund one of the houses.

“We are very grateful to have received the federal government grant funding as it will be used to complete the project in its entirety.

“It will allow the project to save some costs and gain efficiencies by completing both houses together and a lot sooner than anticipated.

“We hope this will attract more doctors and help improve the health outcomes in general for the people of Wee Waa.”

Mr Greste and other Wee Waa Community Complex Incorporated committee members, including Kerry Watts, Annie Weekes and Bruce Gray (who also represents the Wee Waa and District Aged Hostel committee), attended the site inspection with Mr Coulton and Mr Pitt on Tuesday.

Mr Greste told The Courier the grant was “very welcome” and meant the committee wouldn’t need to undertake more fundraising to complete the project, which will include a two-bedroom home and a three-bedroom home.

Mr Gray agreed the new housing site would “certainly make Wee Waa more attractive” for medical staff to live and work.

Mr Pitt said the Economic Development Program recognised local communities understand best how to tackle the different challenges they face, and what kinds of activity support people in their own areas.

“It was great to be able to get out on the ground and see firsthand how these economic grants will be able to improve communities like Wee Waa for the better,” he said.

“The Wee Waa Medical Professional Housing is a perfect example of a project that will create new jobs, increase the capacity of communities like Wee Waa by diversifying and strengthening the local economy.

“Across the basin, people have been dealing with the biggest water reform in Australia’s history along with drought, demographic change and commodity price change.

“This funding recognises the pressures that many people in the basin’s rural and regional communities are under, and seeks to create new economic activity and job opportunities for impacted communities.”

It’s understood close to $39 million of funding has already been approved under rounds one and two of the program for a range of activities-throughout Murray-Darling Basin communities.

Mr Coulton and Mr Pitt also chatted with some Wee Waa farmers before the housing site inspection.

“I’d never break the rules of private conversations,” Mr Pitt told The Courier when asked about the meeting.

“As you’d expect, we are talking about the Murray Darling Basin Plan and we are talking about its impact on local communities.

“The way that it will be delivered working with the states because this is a plan which is between six stakeholders – it is states and territories and the Commonwealth, and of course, all of those basin communities and it’s important that they’re all involved, so I am always happy to hear the views of local people who are directly affected.

“You’ve got a great representative in Mark Coulton who never leaves a stone unturned in telling me what needs to be done.

“But it’s good to hear firsthand what directly impacts people in places like Wee Waa and other irrigation communities,” said Mr Pitt.

“We’re here to represent communities – that’s our jobs as Members of Parliament.

“So that firsthand knowledge, that direct knowledge of impact of policies, from Canberra and elsewhere, is what influences our decisions.”

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