Our community has been raising the alarm about a severe shortage of midwives at Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital.

At times, expectant mothers have been told they may have to leave the area to have their babies, forcing them away from their support network.

This is an unacceptable situation for a hospital the size of Tamworth and the community deserves better.
I recently met with local nurses and midwives led by passionate advocate Jill Telfer, as well as oncology and gynaecology specialists who were deeply concerned by shortages at Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital.

As a result of these meetings, I contacted the Minister, urging him to act and to meet the demands of local midwives.

As a result of our strong advocacy, today the Labor Government announced a $20,000 incentive for midwives who move to regional and rural areas like Tamworth and Gunnedah.
While these measures are welcome, this is just the start and more needs to be done to support our nurses and midwives.

Nurses, midwives and our community deserve better.