omadvertiser.com.au
THE ADVERTISER, Friday, August 16, 2024 - Page 1
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BEECHWORTH - CHILTERN - RUTHERGLEN - STANLEY - YACKAND YACKANDANDAH Friday, August 16, 2024
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Billson’s start sale process Page 3
BOOTS GALORE Christine Cansfield- Smith (left), Robert Davidson and Beth Davidson with gumboots collected so far to be donated to war-affected kids in Syria. Story page 2 PHOTO: Coral Cooksley
Indigo Interview Page 7
Council’s unite on health Indigo, g , Alpine p and Towong g Shire councils meet in Beechworth to p push for improved p health service SERIOUS concerns about the provision of health care services to meet the needs of rural and regional communities across the North East have been aired at a special meeting of Indigo, Alpine and Towong Shire Councils. Mayors and councillors from the three councils held a historic joint meeting in Beechworth on Tuesday where they voted
unanimously to take a united stance to advocate for better health services for the region, including a single site hospital built on a greenfield site in Albury-Wodonga. Held at Beechworth Town Hall, the three councils endorsed several advocacy action items including calling for the State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales to pause the current
redevelopment plans for the Albury Hospital and redirect efforts towards a new single site facility development in either Albury or Wodonga. Indigo Shire Mayor Sophie Price said with the current healthcare infrastructure plans, the communities of Alpine, Indigo and Towong are genuinely facing the prospect of substandard health services for decades to come.
“If governments do not understand that this issue is at the heart of what our communities want us to advocate for, then they seriously do not understand our communities,” she said. “Health services are the most important issue for all three shires and this is far too important for us not to continue to fight for.” Alpine Mayor, John For-
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syth said Albury-Wodonga Health is the third largest health service in Victoria, servicing a population base of 300,000 people and yet the funding being put forward by the Victorian Government falls well short of what is required to provide the region with quality health care services. Towong Mayor Andrew Whitehead gave a personal account of how his young
son had to be airlifted to Canberra to get the necessary care required for a broken leg and the impact this had on his family having to travel so far to be by his son’s side. “To not have a trauma centre that is up to the standard of care that he required in a regional centre the size of AlburyWodonga is not ok,” Cr Whitehead said. ■ Continued page 2
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