Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Murray-Darling rural medical school's network has been delivered and the construction is about to begin in Wagga Wagga. The Murray–Darling Medical Schools Network was announced in the 2018 budget, and included the establishment of a rural medical school in Wagga Wagga, administered by the University of New South Wales. I was proud on Friday to officially turn the first sod with the University of New South Wales Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Attila Brungs. A rural medical school has been one of my primary goals since entering this place. Soon after being elected member for Riverina in 2010, I helped establish an implementation committee. On that committee were Gerard Carroll AM and Dr Nick Stephenson. They have been tireless in their efforts to help me and others to achieve this goal.

The very first thing I did when I became the Deputy Prime Minister was to establish the medical schools network, and this comprises schools in Dubbo, Orange, Wagga Wagga, Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton. We know that, if students train in the regions from start to finish, they're more likely to practise in the regions, to stay in the regions and to be retained by the regions because they'll fall in love with the communities, they'll fall in love with the people and they might even fall in love with somebody in that community. That will be a reason for them to stay in the $21 million three-storey Wagga Wagga medical school. It will include undercover parking and will form part of the base hospital precinct. It's a great outcome for the regions and great outcome for Wagga Wagga.