Election delayed
First candidate to focus on health
The first potential new councillor for Edward River Council has thrown her hat in the ring with a drive to fix Deniliquin and district’s healthcare system and invest in locally-driven projects.
But candidates will have to wait longer for the election, with the NSW Government postponing the local government polls until De- cember 4 due to the Sydney COVID-19 outbreak.
Shirlee Burge, an inaugural member of the Deniliquin Health Action Group, which has lobbied for improved healthcare services in Deniliquin for three years, said her pleas for quicker action on healthcare had gone unheard while she has watched services deteriorate.
She said council’s success in getting a clinical services plan for the region — which was approved by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard this month with a state contribution of $300,000 — was actually a disappointment and the catalyst for her bid, because council originally advocated for a new hospital.
In its 2019 advocacy strategy council wanted $500,000 for a planning assessment, then $40 million to $60 million for redevelopment of the hospital on the existing site or relocation to a new site.
This was watered down to $300,000 for a clinical services plan in this year’s advocacy strategy, which also called for investment to follow for implementing the plan, but with no specific amount requested.
Mrs Burge acknowledged the difficulty of the council merger, which saw the old Deniliquin and Conargo shire councils amalgamated in 2016, and left council ‘‘late off the mark’’ in its advocacy, because it was preoccupied with the administrative difficulty of merging two councils
Edward River Council has said it proposed the more achievable $300,000 funding pitch in 2021 to get the plan approved more quickly, but Mrs Burge believed if council had had more teeth earlier in its term ‘‘we would already be turning soil on a new hospital’’, potentially last year by her estimates.
Mrs Burge was one of three private citizens invited to speak at the parliamentary inquiry into health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote NSW in Deniliquin in April.
Council also presented a case at the inquiry for the clinical services plan and for the delivery of more than $4 million worth of promised grants, which were announced as election sweeteners during the 2019 state and federal election campaigns.
At the inquiry, Mrs Burge called Deniliquin Hospital’s resources ‘‘outrageous’’ and below standard for a developed country, due to the decommissioning of services since the 1980s and outsourcing to Telehealth and irregular, mobile services, which she said have their place as an important part of healthcare, but which are ‘‘not a replacement’’ for traditional face to face care.
She said the medical staff in the district are ‘‘magnificent’’ but management and advocacy around healthcare from council and Murrumbidgee Local Heath District ‘‘needs to change’’ to improve the district’s doctor and nurse shortage.
‘‘I feel that I don’t know anyone other than myself who has so much experience (advocating in this area),’’ she said.
‘‘It’s not anything against the people that are there but I think I can bring something else (to council).’’
She plans to lobby for a larger maternity service, an oncology centre, a rehabilitation centre and hydrotherapy pool and an increase in beds at the hospital to reduce NSW border residents’ reliance on Victorian services.
She said her husband had been unable to access urgent care because of the Victorian lockdown, while services, which were previously available in Deniliquin, have disappeared.
She said pregnant people have had to leave town to give birth safely and she would like to see a larger maternity service for this area to prevent dangerous travel for people who are heavily pregnant.
‘‘The deterioration of the system through lack of proper planning and care — that’s the total failure for me with the border closure,’’ she said.
‘‘Our citizens will die because of that.’’
Mrs Burge believes health is the front-running issue for the Edward River local government area, but she also has plans to invest in infrastructure, local business, farmers and tourism.
She has been married into a farming family for 35 years and ‘‘understands how severely affected’’ farmers have been because of poor water management.
‘‘I’ve not just come here out of the blue, I’m not just stuck in one area, but health is my big focus.’’
While she has a range of experience working in aged care and disability, and lobbying for regional health services, she has been working at a local business in Deniliquin’s industrial area and is familiar with the state of infrastructure and the needs of businesses in that precinct.
‘‘All our permanent businesses are out there,’’ Mrs Burge said.
‘‘I drive out on Saleyards Rd and we drive up on roads with flooded drainage systems.’’
Mrs Burge has also spent seven years in total working across local governments in NSW and Victoria.
‘‘I’ve got a really good understanding of how those governments work.’’
She wants to see councillors return to a more visible role in the community where they regularly engage with the community on their roles and policy.
Mrs Burge hopes the region’s residents can trust her experience, acumen and understanding of the local community.
‘‘I’ve not made a lot of friends through how outspoken I’ve been about healthcare but I hope people understand that I’m trying to make life better,’’ she said.
‘‘But if I do this, I want to throw myself at it and hope people understand I’m doing it because I really care.’’