Thank Your Pharmacist Day 2023

The below story is from the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to acknowledge Thank Your Pharmacist Day 2023 As a consultant and GP pharmacist, Brooke Shelly MPS, based in the regional Victorian town of Mildura, offers a holistic healthcare service to patients. ‘I love the time I can afford patients as a consultant pharmacist, [however], the…

Column – Pacific Engagement Visa

This week in Parliament I spoke on the value of Australia’s engagement with our Pacific Island neighbours, which cannot be denied. My speech addressed Labor’s new immigration legislation.As those who live in Swan Hill, Robinvale and Mildura regions can attest, to see how migrants from the Pacific Islands contribute to our industries and communities –…

Migration Amendment (Australia’s Engagement in the Pacific and Other Measures) Migration (Visa Pre-application Process) Charge

Deputy Speaker, I, and the Coalition, support efforts to engage more with our Pacific neighbours. You only have to visit the Mildura, Robinvale and Swan Hill regions, along the Northern border of Mallee, to see how migrants from the Pacific Islands contribute to our industries and communities – working on farming properties or in other…

Westpac pauses regional bank closures

Westpac’s Robinvale Branch will remain open for now after the bank paused its regional closure program while it engages with an ongoing Senate Inquiry. Federal Member for Mallee Anne Webster successfully advocated for the pause, which comes after continued pressure on the entire banking sector to halt regional closures. “This is great news for the…

Moratorium needed on bank closures

Member for Mallee Anne Webster has called on the banking sector to place a moratorium on closures until recommendations of the Regional Banking Taskforce have been implemented in the wake of another Mallee bank branch closing down. Last week Westpac announced it would shut its Robinvale branch, following news late last year ANZ would do…

Visa oversight costs regions

A visa oversight by the Federal Labor Government is exacerbating the regional healthcare workforce crisis. Thanks to a Ministerial Direction issued by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, skilled migrants across the healthcare and education sectors who apply to work in the regions are waiting more than two years for a Skilled – Regional visa (subclass 887)…