Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Minister for Regional Communications) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, Senator O'Sullivan, I can. Thank you very much for your question. Like all senators on this side, Senator O'Sullivan understands that rural communities face specific health challenges and deserve localised service delivery to ensure they receive the same level of care as the rest of the country. Rural health is at the core of our government's approach to developing health policy. A dedicated National Rural Health Commissioner, implemented by this government, is integral to achieving this outcome and will also champion rural health reform. We've established the Rural Health Stakeholder Roundtable to bring key organisations together to help inform our policy development and improve health outcomes in rural and regional Australia.

On Friday I chaired the roundtable meeting to facilitate discussions on important issues, including how we can better support more health professionals undertaking their training and careers in the bush. We know many regional communities find it difficult to recruit and retain doctors. While there is a good supply of GPs nationally, there is absolutely a maldistribution of the medical workforce, which unfairly affects rural and regional service delivery. The evidence tells us that when health students complete the majority of their training in a regional setting they are more likely to practise rurally upon graduation. Carolyn Reimann, a student from James Cook University in Cairns, who I met on Friday at the roundtable, hopes to pursue a career as a rural generalist. To further examine the issue, a distribution working group has been established to provide me with the policy advice I need to address the maldistribution.

As someone who is of the regions, and the responsible minister, I'm committed to responding to the needs of local communities and to ensuring we have an appropriate mix of health professionals and services to deliver quality health care to all Australians no matter where they live. Through more than 40 programs specifically designed to target rural areas, the government is increasing the capacity, quality and distribution of our healthcare workforce.