Royal Flying Doctor Service to receive $15 million in budget

There was some great news last week with the announcement by Health Minister Ryan Park that the Royal Flying Doctor will receive $15 million in the budget to ensure that it can continue providing its services to the people of NSW.

The RFDS’s services reach parts of the state that are not well served by the government health service, in effect it is the health service in those areas, without them many communities would likely have little or no medical care.

The RFDS is, and should always be seen as, a core part of health services, particularly in communities in Regional NSW and Barwon.

I believe it should be prioritised in the same way as a state-run Local Health District in attracting resources.

Aside from the entrenched role of the RFDS in the history of Regional Australia, which it has served for 97 years, we know these services save lives, and often make the difference between a community getting health services or getting none.

Thanks again to the Minister and NSW government, this funding will allow RFDS to continue doing the excellent work that they do.

Final Report of Dr Joe McGirr’s committee on regional health

It has been three years since the release of the final report of the Regional Health Inquiry, back in May 2022. That report led to the setting up a committee on regional, rural, and remote health, under Dr Joe McGirr, Member for Wagga Wagga, to report on the progress of the implementation of its 44 recommendations.

Recently Dr Joe’s committee released its final report, focusing on cross-jurisdictional health reform and government consultation with remote, rural and regional communities.

Several of the findings and recommendations are especially relevant to communities in Barwon.

Finding 7 is of particular interest, because it relates to the Hunter New England Health District. It says that consultation between Local Health Districts and communities remains limited in areas of remote, rural and regional NSW, including in relation to planning and decision-making for local health services.

Its recommendation is that “NSW Health work with rural and regional Local Health Districts (LHDs) to formalise the requirement for genuine community consultation within each LHD’s health service planning process.”

Bill for more transparency in water agreements

Because of the interconnected, cross-border nature of our river systems it has always been important to discuss water sharing issues with neighbouring states.

The trouble is that past intergovernmental agreements have often been conducted out of the eye of parliament. Recently in parliament I introduced a bill that will give more accountability and transparency to intergovernmental agreements on water.

The Water Management Amendment (Intergovernmental Agreements) Bill 2025 would make it law that the parliament views the draft of the agreement, before it is signed off on by the government.

The implications of these intergovernmental agreements in the past have been significant for NSW, and we don’t know about them until after they are signed.

This amendment would mean agreements concerning the Murray-Darling Basin would be tabled in parliament until 15 days have passed.

These agreements need to be subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate. I will keep you posted on the progress of my bill.

Try Shooting Day

Sometimes the sitting weeks can have some entertaining distractions, last week we held another Try Shooting Day at the SSAA’s Auburn Shooting Centre. Held under the auspices of the Parliamentary Friends of Shooting and Outdoor Recreation, of which I am the chair, and supported by Phil Donato and Sally Quinell as deputy chairs, and supported by the SSAA (Sporting Shooters Association Australia) NSW Branch and SIFA (Shooting Industry Foundation Australia), the event was open to everyone in NSW Parliament, all members and all parliamentary staff. Lithgow arms provided a range of their guns from some classic early 20th century models to more modern firearms which helped make the day a success.

We had around thirty people. Events like this are held to help give people a taste of what it is like to shoot targets in a safe, secure environment, and to show them how much fun shooting can be. I want to thank the SSAA, SIFA and Lithgow Arms for their contributions.

As a co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Shooting and Outdoor Recreation, one of the major aims of the group is to promote the sport of shooting amongst my parliamentary colleagues.

I think that the more parliamentarians – and the general public for that matter – understand how safe shooting is and what fun they can have, the better. The better it will be for the recreation and sport of shooting, but also the better their decision-making processes will be about firearms matters.