Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

As this House now well knows, there is a chronic shortage of doctors in country Australia. The Murray Darling Medical School aims to fix this problem by training doctors in the bush for practice in the bush. Planning for the new medical school continues at a rapid pace, and country students in particular are very excited about the prospect of a country medical school designed to train them for careers in rural and regional Australia. A number of Charles Sturt University students have already commenced allied health courses as a prelude to enrolment in the Murray Darling Medical School. I've invited some of those students to visit parliament in the near future.

Charles Sturt University has a strong track record of delivering graduates who meet the workforce needs of country Australia. The Good Universities Guide 2018 found that CSU has a higher proportion of graduates finding full-time work than any other Australian university.

Country communities are tired of the inequity between the cities and the bush. We do not seek a second-best option or a rebadging or rebranding exercise. We seek the Murray Darling Medical School. Every criticism of this new school has been answered, and every challenge placed before this new school has been met. Make no mistake about it: the time for the Murray Darling Medical School has come, and the communities of the west will not be backing down.

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