“The Bega Valley Shire Residents & Ratepayers Association (BVSRRA) calls on you to publicly explain how it is that an anaesthetist at Wollongong Hospital can be reinstated to his position, after being fired for being drunk at work and after abandoning a patient mid-operation, while senior NSW Health bureaucrats can refuse to renew the contract of Dr Chris Phoon, an orthopaedic surgeon with an exemplary record at the new South East Regional Hospital (SERH) in Bega, allegedly because he refused to embrace the hospital’s ‘core values’: values which your own inquiry identified as being bullying, harassment, intimidation and a lack of accountability.

“The BVSRRA also calls on you to publicly explain how it is that your government can initiate, conduct and complete an inquiry into the operation of the SERH, allegedly involving interviews being conducted with more than 100 people and completed in two months, but it can’t complete an inquiry into the victimisation of Dr Phoon and his family by senior NSW Health management in the same time frame.

“The BVSRRA also calls on you to publicly explain at what point you, as NSW Minister for Health, will intervene to rectify the scandalous treatment visited on Dr Phoon by NSW Health and renew his contract as a first step to restoring the previous outstanding orthopaedic surgery capability at the SERH to serve the health needs of communities in the south-east of NSW.

“The BVSRRA believes that, in the event that you are not willing to publicly respond to its questions and immediately intervene to correct the injustice perpetrated against Dr Phoon, then you will have abrogated your responsibility to protect the health of the people of south-east NSW and that you should resign.

“We await your public response.”

The news that another child has been injured after rolling a quad bike over the weekend once again reinforces the need for a greater effort to be made to stop quad bike deaths and injuries in our rural areas.

Having grown up on a farm, I’m well acquainted with how widely used the quad bike is by country families and workers, including by adults and children alike to get around their own property as well as between farms. 

But as a personal injury lawyer, I’ve also come into direct contact with the life-changing nature of a quad bike injury. One of my clients was 14 years old when she came off a quad bike without a helmet and then suffered a permanent brain injury. 

With 32 deaths from quad bike accidents in NSW alone over the past 6 years, it’s very welcome news that the state government is pressing its federal counterpart for a national approach to quad bike safety and regulation.

Research has shown safety measures like roll bars and helmets can help keep our quad bike riders safe. It’s time all Australian governments came together on this issue so there is consistency across every state.

But even with the best regulations in the world, accidents are still a key risk. That’s why a national campaign is also needed to reinforce the message that wearing a helmet on a quad bike is an absolute must. A helmet could very well mean the difference between life and death – or even a life-changing injury.