News
20 September, 2026
MP, councillors step up fight for urgent care service
Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman has given notice that she will call on NSW Parliament to restore the city’s urgent care service as a matter of priority.
Member for Goulburn Wendy Tuckerman has given notice that she will call on NSW Parliament to restore the city’s urgent care service as a matter of priority.
Mrs Tuckerman gave notice of her Notice of Motion on Friday.
It asks Parliament to acknowledge community concern over the issue and calls for a commitment to restoring the urgent care service “by working with local healthcare providers, (Goulburn-Mulwaree) Council and the Commonwealth Government to identify and support a suitable model for the region”.
It also calls on Parliament to ensure adequate funding is provided “to establish and maintain a sustainable urgent care service that reduces demand on the emergency department (at Goulburn Base Hospital) and improves access to healthcare for local residents”.
“The strong community support for reinstating this service – including through a local petition – highlights just how important accessible healthcare is for our region,” Mrs Tuckerman said.
“An urgent care facility would help take pressure off the emergency department and ensure local families can access the care they need, when they need it.”
Earlier last week Goulburn-Mulwaree Council passed a Notice of Motion from Deputy Mayor Caitlin Flint encouraging local residents to sign the petition.
She said the petition would trigger a debate in NSW Parliament if 20,000 signatures can be obtained.
As reported by The Southern Wire, the urgent care service was closed in June last year after just 12 months of operation due to ‘on-going workforce and operational challenges, alongside broader system factors’.
Cr Flint said three new urgent care services had opened in the Eden-Monaro electorate in recent months.
“I hear too often from our constituents that this was a valued service for the short time that it existed in our region and rather than conceding defeat and being OK with the money being spent elsewhere, let’s do something about it for the benefit of everyone who lives, visits or traverses our region,” Cr Flint said in the background to her Notice of Motion.
“Any commitment from any government to resume this service as a matter of urgency is a measure of success.”
Speaking to her motion at last Tuesday night’s council meeting, Cr Flint urged councillors to “stand together” in the campaign for the urgent service to be restored.
She said closure of the service had simply shifted pressure back onto local GPs and the Emergency Department at Goulburn Base Hospital, particularly after 5pm.
Cr Flint said the petition was “not a political manoeuvre”.
“We are representatives of the community and we have a responsibility to advocate and to speak with one voice on behalf of the community,” she told fellow councillors.
She said the urgent care service had the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives at a time when they needed it most.
Cr Jason Shepherd – who seconded the motion – agreed that it was a community issue and “not a political issue”.
He said a restored urgent service would provide a practical alternative to the hospital’s emergency department.
Cr Shepherd said suitable locations were available and now was the time to be putting pressure on both sides of politics to get something done.
Cr Keith Smith said 90 per cent of the people he had spoken whilst collecting signatures had either used the service during the 12 months it was operating or a member of their family had.
He understands that waiting times in the Emergency Department have doubled since the urgent care service closed.
Cr Liz McKeon said she would be voting against the motion.
She said virtual care services were available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and a number of other initiatives were being put in place to support the local health system.
Those initiatives included the appointment of 19 new senior doctors at Goulburn Base Hospital.
“We need to support State Government departments, not run campaigns against them,” Cr McKeon said.
Cr Christopher O’Mahoney said the State and Federal Governments needed to be held to account.
“We’re hearing our community and we’re representing what our community wants,” he said.
Mayor Nina Dillon said she had been talking to Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain about the potential for a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Goulburn.
Medicare UCCs provide free, walk-in care for urgent but non life-threatening conditions including closed fractures, wounds and minor burns.
The Federal Government is investing $1.4 billion over seven years to establish and operate Medicare UCC’s across the country.
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