Public hearing postponed

A public hearing set to take place in Narrabri tomorrow has been postponed due to travel issues.

The public hearing was being held as part of the inquiry looking at a proposal to split the Hunter New England Health District into two separate districts – Hunter Local Health District and the New England North West LHD.

Member for Barwon Roy Butler shared a statement from the Legislative Assembly Committee on Community services: “Tomorrow’s public hearing in Narrabri is no longer going ahead. Committee members and staff were unable to travel due to an aircraft engineering issue. We will be in touch with you to reschedule the hearing. We send out sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. Thank you for your understanding.”

Mr Butler said, “The review sparked by my bill to split the Hunter New England Local Health District was due to hold a hearing in Narrabri tomorrow.

“Unfortunately that hearing has been cancelled due to problems with flying committee members to Narrabri.

“The hearing will be rescheduled.

“I will keep you posted, but I look forward to local people having the chance to share their experiences with the committee.”

As reported in last week’s The Courier, The Committee on Community Services is holding the inquiry into the Health Services Amendment (Splitting of the Hunter New England Health District) Bill 2025 after it was referred to the committee by the Legislative Assembly in February.

This is the same inquiry that received a flood of submissions from local residents, community groups and organisations, councils, peak bodies, business and agricultural representatives, professionals, stakeholders in the health sector, and other members of the public.

The committee encouraged submissions “about issues such as the potential impact on the administration of the LHD, funding and resourcing, staffing, and access to health services in rural and regional parts of the Hunter New England area.”

There are twenty-five council areas, home to almost one million people, that make up the Hunter New England Local Health District.

Local submissions to the NSW parliamentary inquiry show broad community approval for splitting the district. Of all the cities and towns covered by the district, one features prominently in an inquiry looking into its proposed division: Wee Waa.

Of the 101 submissions received, including confidential items unable to be viewed by the public, almost 25 highlight concerns about the lack of 24-hour medical facilities in Wee Waa or provide examples of having to travel to seek treatment, particularly to Narrabri Hospital and then further in the health district.

Pressure to restore services in Wee Waa really started to ramp up and gained media attention in November last year when the community group ‘Save Our Wee Waa Hospital’ held its first rally, with more than 250 people taking time away from their workplaces and daily lives to support the cause.

The volunteer group’s crusade to keep the hospital’s doors open 24/7 with a permanent onsite doctor led to the rallying of more than 10,000 signatures on a petition that sparked a 40-minute debate about the health crisis in NSW parliament earlier this year. Narrabri Shire mayor Darrell Tiemens, together with Save the Wee Waa Hospital Committee members and Wee Waa community representatives officially presented the ‘Save the Wee Waa Hospital’ petition to Member for Barwon Roy Butler, who was joined by Health Minister Ryan Park.

Keeping the spotlight on health services, Member for Barwon Roy Butler introduced a bill to split the Hunter New England Health District which triggered the current inquiry.

Read more here – Hearing on health district’s future