THE Murray Darling Medical School has been put in a curious position at the centre of the Calare federal election campaign, with inaction labelled as a symbol of what happens, or doesn’t happen, in a safe seat.
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The Nick Xenophon Team, no doubt eager to capitalise on positive polling and chip away at John Cobb’s 15 per cent margin, says it will not happen unless Calare becomes marginal.
NXT’s Senate candidate Aiden Dalgliesh hails from the bellwether seat of Eden-Monaro and says while it was not how he liked to see politics done, it was the reality and Eden-Monaro received a significant amount of attention.
Compare this with The Nationals, who contend there are major lobbyists at work opposing the medical school, including metropolitan universities who do not want to give up their training places.
They also contend the funding announcement for the Gosford medical school is a completely different proposition because it contains no additional places, simply a relocation of the campus from Newcastle.
What does remain clear is that the Murray Darling Medical School is needed and should go beyond politics.
Nationwide, only 15 per cent of medical students want to practice in rural and regional areas and according to the medical school’s supporters this drops to 8 per cent who actually follow through and the school believes it has the formula to significantly improve the success rate.
For an emerging healthcare hub like Orange, being able to adequately staff facilities becomes paramount.
The way voters view the different reasons put to them about why the school has not been delivered will undoubtedly be reflected on polling day.
