The Regional Health Professional Pathway is underway with the 2026 intake beginning their studies to become doctors for regional NSW.
The RHPP is run through the University of New England and is designed to provide a route into medicine for health professionals like nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and pharmacists.
It was great to catch up with the eight students who are in the program and all come from regional areas, including the Northern Tablelands.
Builder for Glen Innes Hospital appointed
The next step of $50 million Glen Innes Hospital redevelopment has been taken with the appointment of a builder.
TCQ Construction has been engaged as the builder to deliver the main works which will see a modern new acute services building, including a bigger emergency department, improved medical imaging, better ambulance access and a new main hospital entrance delivered.
This is great news for Glen Innes and the wider Northern Tablelands by supporting the economy, creating jobs and giving our community better access to health services.
Now we need this new hospital built and staffed properly.
National Seniors Australia Armidale branch meeting
The Armidale branch of National Seniors Australia invited me to their meeting to talk all things the Northern Tablelands.
It was excellent to catch up with a group of people invested in the community.
The 2026 intake of students from the Regional Health Professional Pathway program have begun their studies at UNE.
Glen Innes Show
The Royal of the North – the Glen Innes Show- was held last Friday, Saturday and Sunday with big crowds and plenty on offer.
It was great to see so many people out and about and the weather mostly holding off for a fantastic event. The Guyra Show is the next cab off the rank with festivities on Friday and Saturday while Ashford Show will be held on Saturday and Sunday.
Hillgrove war memorial funding
Funding was secured for the Hillgrove Progress Association to revamp the village’s war memorial.
The HPA received a grant from the NSW Community War Memorials’ Fund which will help cover the costs of landscaping to help protect and preserve the tribute to service and sacrifice.
Around 70 people from Hillgrove and surrounding farms gather every Anzac Day to pay tribute to the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country.
It is fantastic to deliver funding to make the job easier of preserving the site.
CWA celebrations
I attended the Uralla branch of the Country Women’s Association’s 100 year anniversary celebration on Friday and will attend the Armidale 100 year celebration on Saturday.
The CWA has a proud history of supporting rural and regional women, putting together positive initiatives and helping out communities.
It was fantastic to be part of the celebrations of such an important milestone for both branches.
Northern Tablelands Regional Organisation of Councils
Mayors and general managers from the Northern Tablelands councils and I met at Bingara’s Living Classroom on Monday to discuss issues affecting the region.
The forum allowed the mayors to put forward shared challenges, support each other and collaborate on how to better represent the area.
Healthcare, roads and water supply were shared concerns from all councils.
Pre-school wages
The Fair Work Commission made a recommendation on Monday to boost the wages of pre-school workers across the state.
For more than six months, the NSW Opposition has been backing community preschools in their push for pay parity with their colleagues who work in public preschools.
There are more than 700 community preschools across NSW which deliver an important service to families, particularly in regional areas.
Rangers Valley visit
Australian-based beef company Stanbroke bought the Rangers Valley feedlot near Glen Innes in October 2025.
They specialise in Angus, Wagyu and Wagyu cross for both Australian and international markets.
I popped in on Tuesday for a tour and to meet the staff and owners.
Telstra outages – Inverell
Due to “upgrades” to Telstra’s mobile base station at Inverell, mobile services will be temporarily affected from 7am-5pm (daily sectorised outages) between March 3 to March 8; from 7am-5pm (full site) March 9; and from 7am-5pm (full site) March 10
Water restrictions
Please contact your local council for water restrictions enquiries.
Uralla township: Level 2 water restrictions. For more information, visit Uralla Current Water Restrictions.
Armidale: Level 1 restrictions are in place for the whole council area. For more information, visit Armidale Current Water Restrictions.
Gwydir: Bingara has Level 1 restrictions in place while Warialda, Gravesend and North Star are on Level 3. For more information, visit Bingara, Warialda, Gravesend and North Star Current Water Restrictions.
As always, please get in touch if I can help with any state government matters.
Commentary by Brendan Moylan, Member for Northern Tablelands
