NSW councils have put forth their priorities ahead of the state election. 

“Rural, regional and remote patients have significantly poorer health outcomes, greater incidents of chronic disease and greater premature deaths when compared to their counterparts in metropolitan areas,” according to the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales.

For many councils in rural and regional NSW, the findings of the inquiry were nothing new, as they face dire situations when it comes to accessing vital healthcare services.

Local Government NSW says that although the provision of healthcare is primarily the responsibility of state and federal governments, it is often councils, at the frontline of their communities, that deal with the consequences of inadequate or poorly funded healthcare services. 

Too often, the lobby says that local government must step in to fill the void- shifting costs onto councils. 

For all communities across NSW - whether rural, regional or metro - the lobby says there is a distinct lack of support for community wellbeing and mental health services, particularly in regards to targeted youth services.

For these reasons, LGNSW is calling for all candidates and parties at the 2023 State Election to commit to:

  1. Implementing in full the recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry into rural and regional health services.

  2. Increase funding for specialised and appropriate youth and community wellbeing and mental health services to bolster resilience, particularly following disaster


A full copy of the advocacy group’s 2023 state election policies is accessible in PDF form, here.