Have Your Say

TRANSCRIPT: WIN RIVERINA WITH GEORGIA ROBINSON, 22 AUGUST 2025

2 August 2025

Subjects: Lockhart Aged Care upgrade 

E&OE 

STARTS 11.18am 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Michael McCormack, Federal Member for Riverina. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

So, obviously it’s very exciting today to have this upgraded facility. Age care is a Federal issue, how does it feel to see this investment here in this small community the Riverina? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

It’s such an exciting day, it’s a red-letter day for Lockhart, but not just Lockhart, for the entire district. Woodhaven has provided care for older residents for many, many decades. Today they opened eight new beds, and this is an exciting development, not just, as I say, for the town, but for the entire region. Why shouldn’t people who have grown up in Lockhart all their lives, age in place where they can spend their twilight years, their golden years with familiar people around them, with friendly faces, with family, friends in their community. They shouldn’t be shipped away, far off to centres hundreds of kilometres away. They should be able to age in place, and this is what Woodhaven provides, and I’m so pleased to have been part of the funding grant, so this was enabled, this was made possible for this wonderful, wonderful community. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

And often we feel like, you know, aged care, especially in the regions, can be overlooked, so why do we need to keep investing in centres like this? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK
Why shouldn’t regional country people have the very best facilities, facilities equal to, if not better than those in metropolitan areas? We should be able to have these sorts of facilities so that towns such as Lockhart, tiny communities, but very caring communities, should be able to look after their own people, who have contributed mightily to the local region, they’ve helped build the local region, they should be able to age in place. This is so critically important. 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

Are there any other centres in the region that are pushing for an expansion? Or updates that you know of? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK 

Just about every community I represent has very much community-minded, community-run trusts which are running aged care facilities. I was at Boorowa just the other day where their tiny little community are investing in their older residents, in making sure that they’ve got the development possible so that they can have the facilities going forward. But indeed, whether it’s Junee, Cootamundra, Harden-Murrumburrah, you name it, Gundagai – Uralba they’re doing some wonderful work, to develop, to expand, to progress aged care. We are an ageing population and certainly in regional areas, we’ve got an ageing population but we’re very fortunate to have community-minded people who get behind these volunteers-run organisations, they’re not-for-profits and they make sure that they look after their older residents, it’s so important. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

Can I ask you two questions from our Canberra Bureau? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK 

Yep, sure. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

We’ve just seen another life lost on the Barton Highway. Are you planning to pressure Kristy McBain to deliver the long-awaited duplication? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

Well, it’s not just Kristy McBain, it’s the Labor Government, full stop. It’s Catherine King, who is the Transport and Infrastructure Minister. I know when I was in that role for three years between 2018 and 2021, we were able to put much of the duplication between Murrumbateman and the ACT border. Of course, it wasn’t completed, there’s a section there of about eight kilometres, which is in desperate need of duplication and it’s up to the Labor Government to honour the commitments that that we made as a Coalition Government that they said themselves that should they be re-elected that they would fund. We haven’t seen any funding announcement. It is high time, it is too, too long a time for this Federal Labor Government. They haven’t invested in regional Australia, they cut all of the funding for roads and infrastructure in regional communities. They’ve got a regional Minister, her name is Catherine King, it’s time that she put her money where her mouth is and funded this vital road. It’s used by so many thousands of commuters each and every day. We’ve seen too many lives lost and it’s high time this Labor Government stumped up the cash to duplicate that road. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON  

Cool, and has there been an outcry from the community about the highway? 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

I receive letters, e-mails, phone calls, each and every day from people in Murrumbateman, in Yass to see what’s happening with the highway and it’s cruel the fact that this Government has not made any announcement as far as funding going forward. Mark Jeffreson, the Labor candidate in the last election, said when Labor was re-elected, he said: ‘well, good first thing we can do is get on and now the Murrumbateman, the Barton Highway, will be duplicated.’ Well, it’s high time that the Catherine King and other ministers, indeed, even the Prime Minister, stumps up that cash for that duplication. They said they were gonna do it, they promised they were gonna do it, they need to make sure that they do do it. 

 

GEORGIA ROBINSON 

Perfect, thank you. 

 

MICHAEL McCORMACK  

No worries at all. 

 

ENDS 11.23am 

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