The council says its communities are “being left behind, forgotten and frankly left for dead”.
The blunt and uncompromising message, originally delivered in council’s submission to the Health Services Amendment (Splitting of the Murrumbidgee Local Health District) inquiry, was again delivered in person by Mayor Julia Cornwell McKean at Griffith inquiry hearings last week.
The Bill and subsequent inquiry have been triggered by NSW Member for Murray Helen Dalton’s push for the MLHD to be split in two - to form individual Murrumbidgee and Western Riverina health districts.
Mrs Dalton says the intention is to provide “locally based and planned healthcare”.
Southern Riverina’s communities are proposed to be included in the Western Riverina health district, which will cover Leeton to Balranald, also including Jerilderie, Berrigan, Finley, Tocumwal, Leeton, Griffith, Hay, Hillston, Lake Cargelligo, Balranald, Barham, Moulamein.
“The people of the Murray electorate deserve better. For far too long, the current health system, managed remotely by the Murrumbidgee Local Health District from Wagga Wagga, has failed to meet the needs of local communities,” Mrs Dalton said.
“The time has come for meaningful change, and that change should begin with the creation of the Western Riverina Local Health District.”
Berrigan Shire Council’s formal submission to the inquiry outlines critical and systemic failures in emergency response times, stroke treatment, dialysis access and cardiac care.
Cr Cornwell McKean told the inquiry hearing that the current MLHD structure is not delivering equitable healthcare for border residents, and that any structural reform must lead to real, measurable improvements, not administrative reshuffling.
“We are not asking for more than anyone else. We are asking for the same chance of survival,” Cr Cornwell McKean said.
“Your postcode should not determine your survival.”
Cr Cornwell McKean said the evidence is stark, and the reality for people living in Berrigan Shire is unacceptable.
Local evidence gathered by Berrigan Shire, and presented at the Griffith hearing, includes:
• In Tocumwal, the median wait time for a Priority 1 ambulance is around 25 minutes. Fewer than two per cent of calls meet the statewide median response time of 8.2-8.6 minutes.
• In Finley, a person suffering a stroke has virtually no chance of receiving treatment within the critical “golden hour”.
• In Berrigan, dialysis patients face a minimum three-hour round trip, three times a week - and only once they reach the top of the waiting list.
• In Barooga, anyone with a suspected heart attack must travel 90 minutes to Albury or three hours to Melbourne for essential cardiac testing.
“That is not inconvenience. That is inequity; life-and-death gaps in service,” Cr Cornwell McKean said.
“Our residents pay taxes like every other New South Welshman. Their lives are worth the same.”
At the hearing, the Mayor called for targeted, practical reforms, including:
• A permanent ambulance station in Tocumwal.
• CT scanners for Finley and Tocumwal hospitals, and inclusion in the NSW Telestroke service.
• Dialysis services within Berrigan Shire.
• Cross-border health partnerships that function in practice, not just on paper.
• Governance reform that ensure rural communities are genuinely represented and no longer overlooked.
Cr Cornwell McKean also argued that border communities are being masked by aggregated district-wide statistics, and that meaningful reform must deliver improved outcomes for the people who live furthest from metropolitan services.
“Regional lives are worth the same as the people who live in Sydney — and it’s time the system reflected that.”
She said the challenges faced by Tocumwal, Berrigan, Barooga and Finley are not isolated, but indicative of broader inequities across the MLHD.
