Momentum for the Murray Darling Medical School is building, with the appointment of Professor John Dwyer, AO, as Foundation Professor of Medicine and Surgery last week. For more than two decades, Professor Dwyer was head of UNSW’s School of Medicine and brings an enormous wealth of knowledge to our push for the Murray Darling Medical School. As well as Professor Dwyer’s appointment, the National Farmers’ Federation have announced their support for the proposal. This is wonderful news, as we need all the people power we can get.
It’s very disappointing that the established universities like Sydney Uni are still oppos- ing the Charles Sturt University proposal. I was very surprised that they recently took out full-page ads in local newspapers denouncing the proposal.
I had a good read of the letter and to me it all looks like spin. You can take all of the advertisements that you like, but at the end of the day if their system is so successful why is there a shortage of doctors in country Australia? The facts don’t lie. Nobody, including Sydney University has been able to lay a glove on CSU’s research, which shows there is adequate training capacity in the system. The fact that the urban universities have to resort to full-page ads I think is a sign of desperation because they know that the CSU proposal has merit and has community support. This is a matter of equity between the city and the bush. People in the country deserve the same access to medical services as people in the big cities. We will not be giving in and we will not be backing down on this vitally important issue for country communities.
The time for the Murray Darling Medical School has come!