Can you write a letter?
Maintaining and improving Gummun Place will take an entire community. Please take a moment to write to your MPs.
Suggested text is set out below.
You can also see our letters at the bottom of this page.
Here’s some text for your letter
Feel free to use any of the paragraphs below (you can use as many or as few as you like or write your own letter from scratch).
Explain the problem
I am writing to you in respect of a small aged-care facility in Merriwa NSW (in the Upper Hunter Shire Council) – Gummun Place Hostel. Gummun Place Hostel is in an MMM5 community (Modified Monash Model, category 5). Our facility was built from the ground up with donations, fundraising and grant applications from our community and the then Merriwa Shire Council. We are very proud of the facility but recently it has become a highly sensitive political issue in our district – and will remain so until the question of the facility’s future is determined.
The facility is currently under Council management and has been running at a deficit of some $400,000 to $600,000 a year (with the last financial year being one of the larger deficits). This deficit – coupled with being in an MMM5 community, and the impending changes from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety – puts our facility in grave jeopardy.
Many of our residents have family close by. If the facility does not remain open, I fear the residents’ overall wellbeing will be compromised, family and community cohesion will be lost, hospital beds will be taken up with people who should otherwise be in specialised aged care – to name just a few of the issues.
Explain what we want
Our community goals for Gummun Place Hostel align directly with the Federal Minister for Aged Care’s vision – which is “to reform aged care [and] restore dignity to older Australians”. However, as a facility in an MMM5 community, we find the ability to meet this vision extremely difficult. As a regional area we lack resources, find it difficult to attract the necessary professionals, and face many of the issues outlined in the report from the “Royal Commission, Final Report: Care, Dignity and Respect” (such as insufficient staffing, fewer care options, geographic isolation, and equity of access to aged care).
Be clear about what you are asking for
I am writing to you to ask you for:
- Equity of access to aged care – regional towns such as ours have the right to the same access to quality aged care as a person from the eastern suburbs of Sydney.
- Continuity of care – I am seeking a commitment that you have a clear focus on regional facilities such as ours and can assure us that they will continue to operate as a community asset.
- Funding to support changes – I am asking that you help locate (or provide) the funding needed for regional facilities such as ours so we can meet expectations set out in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
- A clear plan – I am asking that you provide a clear plan (including the necessary budget) and a way forward for regional Australia (Merriw included) to show we can maintain our aged care facilities without relying on corporations that see aged care as a “money making machine”.
Ask for a decent response when signing off
A clear response that contains a decisive commitment and clear goals would be greatly appreciated (by this I am asking that you do not respond with general “motherhood” statements).
Many thanks (signed and date your letter).
What have we done?
We have started to lobby our Local, State and Federal representatives. The letters can be viewed below.
On 28th January 2025 the MDPA wrote to Greg McDonald, General Manager, UHSC and copied in all Councillors, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and Matt Pringle. In that letter we asked Mr McDonald to defer any decision-making regarding Gummun Place until results of our questionnaire and sufficient community consultation had been done.
Click here to view the letter.
On 3rd February 2025 the MDPA received a response from Council.
On 22nd January 2025 we wrote to Anika Wells, Federal Minister, Aged Care. We explained the high-level issues and asked specifically for two things:
- We sought a meeting with the Minister’s office to discuss her thoughts about how facilities such as ours can continue to operate as a community asset (as opposed to being part of a corporate conglomerate). We also pointed out that corporate conglomerates are not necessarily a prime solution given we had to have a Royal Commission into aged care.
- We asked for financial assistance so that Gummun Place – a vital community asset – remains financially viable, provides the highest standard of care, ensures our residents remain in the community, and allows families to stay connected through the generations.
On 29th January we wrote to Barnaby Joyce, MP, New England. We asked Mr Joyce for assistance with locating funding to ensure Gummun Place remains viable and in community hands.
Click here to view the letter.
On 31st January the MDPA received the following emailed response.
Dear Stephen
Thank you for your e-mail message and letter on behalf of the Merriwa District Progress Association Inc to the Federal Member for New England, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP.
The matters raised are being examined and Mr Joyce will be in touch with you as soon as possible.
In the meantime, if we can further assist, please contact our office on 6761 3080.
On 22nd January 2025 we wrote to Dave Layzell, State Member, Upper Hunter. We asked that Mr Layzell to help with locating funding (at Federal or State level) that will help us ensure we retain Gummun Place and welcomed the opportunity to meet with him to discuss this as soon as practicable.
On 22nd January 2025 we wrote to Mark Butler, Federal Minister, Health and Aged Care. We asked Mr Butler for a meeting with his office in order to tease out these issues and better understand how the Federal, State and Local governments might come together to solve the types of issues we face in ensuring our most vulnerable residents are cared for.
On the 29th January 2025 we wrote to Anne Ruston, Shadow Minister, Health and Aged Care. We explained the high-level issues and asked for financial assistance to ensure Gummun Place continues to serve our community.