MEMBER for Northern Tablelands Brendan Moylan and the NSW Opposition voted in favour of Health Services Amendment (Right to Primary Health Care) Bill 2026 introduced to NSW Parliament by Member for Wagga Wagga Joe McGirr.
Dr McGirr’s Bill seeks to legally guarantee local health districts provide timely and vital healthcare for people in rural and regional New South Wales.
“For the first time, this Bill would make access to primary health care a statutory responsibility, meaning health authorities would be accountable for addressing general practitioner shortages rather than simply acknowledging them,” Mr Moylan said.
Mr Moylan voiced his strong support for the Bill during the second reading of the bill in Parliament, and highlighted the challenges faced by Northern Tablelands residents in accessing healthcare.
“General practitioner numbers across regional NSW have been in free fall for the last 15 to 20 years and families often struggle to find a doctor,” he said.
“Although public hospitals fall under the State Government, primary health care and general practice falls under the responsibility of the Federal Government.
“But the Federal Government continues to sit on their hands and not address the growing shortage of doctors while regional and rural NSW suffers with inadequate healthcare.”
“For too long, Canberra and Macquarie Street have blamed each other while country communities go without GPs. This Bill ends the blame game and puts responsibility squarely on NSW to make sure regional patients can access primary health care.”
Since joining NSW Parliament in 2024, Mr Moylan has been advocating for State and Federal colleagues to work together to come up with a solution.
“I have continuously urged to the Federal Government to look outside the box and provide tax relief for regional GPs but that was firmly shut down,” he said.
“The Federal Government has relieved NRL players signing with the Papua New Guinea franchise tax-free income so why does the Commonwealth Government not look at trialling tax-free income for GPs and RNs in regional New South Wales?
“What the Federal Government has been doing over the past 20 years simply is not working and we are at the point now where NSW needs to step in.
“There are some positive initiatives happening like the University of New England’s Regional Health Professional Pathway (RHPP) but there are still gaps there with their final year of study unfunded.
“Communities in the Northern Tablelands have waited long enough for meaningful action on the GP shortage crisis. This Bill won’t solve every problem overnight, but it is a serious attempt to improve access to primary healthcare and ensure someone is accountable when services are not available.
“If the Labor State Government chooses to vote against it, they will have to explain to country families why they rejected a measure designed to improve healthcare access in regional NSW.”
