Mayor's Message 16 August 2024

Being part of history in the making is not something that many of us get to experience, but I was fortunate to be part of something special in Beechworth on Tuesday when Indigo Shire hosted its first ever joint meeting with Alpine and Towong Councils.

The three Councils agreed to come together to formalise developing a joint position on advocating for better health services for the region, specifically a new single site Albury Wodonga Hospital.

I was incredibly proud to chair the meeting and to hear from the Mayors and Councillors of Alpine and Towong who share the same level of concern as we do that our communities are being short changed and if the redevelopment of the existing Albury Hospital proceeds, our communities face the real possibility of substandard health care services for decades to come.

We all share the same concern and frustration at ambulance response times, particularly for remote and isolated residents and we fear this will only get worse under the current proposal.

All speakers were full of praise and admiration for our health care workers and first responders and were in no way critical of the incredible work they do.

Towong Councillor Denise Anderson quoted figures that emergency departments and hospital wards are overflowing and that our hospitals are between 30 and 70 beds short in meeting demand on a daily basis. Basically, our hospitals are in crisis.

We all agreed there has never been a greater level of collaboration, not only between the three councils, but also health care professionals and advocates, surrounding councils and the community on a single issue.

But we can’t lose momentum, this issue must remain our highest priority and we encourage members of our community to start advocating to members of parliament for a better outcome.

You can read more about the meetings as well as watch a recording by clicking here, where you’ll also see the resolution adopted unanimously by all three Councils.

Take care everyone.

Cr Sophie Price.