[by video link] If there's one thing to get people's blood boiling in the Batemans Bay and Moruya area, just mention the word 'hospital'. Let me start by saying, we love our nurses, our doctors and all our hospital and health workers. They are absolute champions working in the most difficult conditions. But people in Batemans Bay and Moruya just want to have their hospital services improved. At present, around two-thirds of patients have to travel outside of the area for hospital and cancer care treatment. That often means a long trip to Canberra.

The existing Batemans Bay hospital is a level 2 hospital. The Moruya hospital is a level 3 hospital. The plan was for a brand new Eurobodalla hospital to provide the higher level 4 services and include intensive care and mental health wards. An announcement was made by the state member and the New South Wales government, and everyone thought that we would finally be getting the hospital services—