News
17 October, 2026
Hannan presents cancer centre petition
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for a Cancer and Infusion Centre at the Bowral and District Hospital – meaning it will now be debated in Parliament.
More than 10,000 people have signed a petition calling for a Cancer and Infusion Centre at the Bowral and District Hospital – meaning it will now be debated in Parliament.
Member for Wollondilly Judy Hannan congratulated residents of the Wollondilly and Southern Highlands on the 10,440 paper signatures and 4242 electronic signatures.
She said collecting so many signatures had been “no mean feat”.
Mrs Hannan posted footage to social media this week of the petition being presented to Legislative Assembly staff.
Receipt of the petition has been noted in Parliament and it will now be set down for debate as an ‘order of the day’.
The debate will be held on a Thursday but the exact date hasn’t been set.
Local residents pushing for the new centre say the existing facilities in Bowral are at saturation point, forcing hundreds of people to travel to Campbelltown and Liverpool for their treatment.
Mrs Hannan said the travel was placing immense physical, emotional and financial strain on patients and their families.
Volunteers from the Public Health First advocacy group have spent months gathering signatures and have become a common sight at local events.
The petition calls on the NSW Legislative Assembly to support calls for a cancer and rare diseases centre at Bowral Hospital.
It says growth in the Wollondilly electorate is placing additional pressure on the services offered at the Bowral, Camden and Campbelltown hospitals.
It also says Bowral and District Hospital has both “the space and the scope within the precinct” for a cancer and rare diseases centre.
Mrs Hannan said the centre would provide “much-needed cancer treatment chairs in Bowral” and would provide more cancer treatment options in the Southern Highlands.
She said she had already raised the need for a new cancer treatment centre several times with the State Government through questions and speeches in Parliament and through formal representations.
She said the petition would reinforce the advocacy work already undertaken by community groups and would “show that the community agrees with the need for more public hospital cancer treatment options”.
NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park said in June that the South Western Sydney Local Health District regularly reviewed population projects to inform the planning approach taken for health service provision.
He said the District continued to consider how cancer services were delivered in the Southern Highlands “to support the needs of the community now and into the future”.
“A draft feasibility proposal reviewing the provision of cancer and infusion services at Bowral and District Hospital is under development and is expected to be completed this year,” Mr Park said.
“This will inform the potential transition of the service (from the Southern Highlands Private Hospital) to deliver services within the public hospital system including an assessment of potential costs, resources and service implications.
“I am assured that the District is committed to providing safe, high quality and individualised care and support for people with cancer in the Southern Highlands and surrounding communities,” the Minister said.
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