Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Science) Share this | Hansard source

In regional Western Australia communities are being hollowed out one essential service at a time. Whether it is losing their last bank or struggling to keep a doctor in town, locals are being left to fend for themselves as services disappear and costs rise. I've received an email from the CEO of the Shire of Cunderdin, Mr Stuart Hobley, following Bendigo Bank's announcement that it would close its Cunderdin agency. Sadly, that closure went ahead last week. Cunderdin is now without a single bank in the entire shire, meaning residents must travel more than 120 kilometres to Northam and back to access simple, basic banking services. Mr Hobley wrote: 'The decision came without consultation, and has left the community deeply concerned. It has hit the elderly, small-business owners and those of limited digital access the hardest.' The closure will also have negative economic consequences as locals are forced to bank elsewhere and will inevitably spend their money in those other towns. This hurts Cunderdin's long-term sustainability and erodes community confidence. Bendigo Bank, to their credit, stepped in after the withdrawal of Westpac from Cunderdin, promising it would not abandon Cunderdin as the big banks had done, yet here we are again: another regional town is being left behind.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence, and while the Senate inquiry into regional bank closures did make clear, practical recommendations to protect access to financial services, the Albanese government has still not responded. I ask why: why have they not responded?

Sadly, the same story of neglect is playing out in health care across Durack. Ratepayers are being forced to pay twice for the privilege of seeing a doctor: firstly, when they go to see the doctor; and again through their local rates. Communities such as Northampton, Dongara and Meekatharra are digging into their own buckets just to keep their doctor in town. I recently wrote to Minister Mark Butler, our health minister, asking that regional Western Australian councils receive some financial support for the cost of keeping their local doctor. I received a very brief response—I received a letter. I didn't get a letter from the minister, though; I got a letter from one of his team members. Honestly, regional Western Australian councils are on their knees, trying to keep their local doctors in town, and all that minister can do is say to somebody else, 'Just send her some basic sort of letter that really says nothing.' Well, we deserve better than that, Mr Mark Butler. It's just not good enough. Local governments should not have to become the healthcare providers because Labor has failed to deliver the incentives needed to attract and retain doctors in regional and remote Western Australia. The people of Durack deserve much better, Minister Butler.

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