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In a major assault on feral deer in western NSW, the Minns Labor Government is targeting large swathes of private land and national park to proactively prevent the spread of the destructive pest.

In a joint effort, Local Land Services and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) will undertake aerial culling across some 726,000 hectares of mostly flat, open terrain in Western NSW.

Western Local Land Services is currently delivering a targeted aerial shoot across private land in the Hillston-Euabalong area until 19 May, through the NSW Government’s Good Neighbours Program.

This will be followed by a series of shoots delivered by the NPWS throughout May and June in the neighbouring Hunthawang, Nombinnie, Round Hill and Yathong national parks.

Western Local Land Services is working with about 60 private landholders to coordinate control efforts through the Good Neighbours Program, which aims to increase collaboration between public and private land managers to more effectively manage pests and weeds across the state.

Feral deer compete with livestock for pastures, trample vegetation, degrade water quality and pose a public safety risk on roads.

They are listed as a priority pest in the Western Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plan, with fallow deer being the most widespread species.

All land managers in NSW have a general biosecurity duty to manage pest animals on their properties, including feral deer.

Local Land Services provides advice and support to land managers to manage feral deer and helps facilitate landscape-scale coordinated control programs, such as the western NSW program.

Landholders are encouraged to participate in coordinated control programs and report feral deer activity to their local biosecurity officer or via FeralScan.

Visit the Local Land Services website for more information about the Good Neighbours Program.

Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe said:

“Deer are a feral pest that are destroying public and private land across NSW.

“These operations are about preserving our natural environment, improving safety for regional communities and protecting agricultural productivity.”

Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW, Tara Moriarty said:

“The Minns Government is taking decisive, coordinated action to get on the front foot and stop feral deer from spreading further across western NSW.

“While there are fewer species of feral deer established in western NSW compared to other regions, that doesn’t mean we can become complacent. In fact, it presents an ideal opportunity to work together to keep on top of feral deer populations and prevent the spread.

“That’s why we’re taking proactive steps now to bring together public and private land managers to bridge borders and set them up for success.”

Information for media

NPWS West Branch has conducted more than 480 hours of aerial shooting so far this financial year.

This has removed just over 27,000 feral animals, including 22,000 goats and 4,000 pigs.

NPWS also uses ground baiting, mustering, ground shooting and trapping to remove feral animals.

Main works construction for the $50 million Glen Innes Hospital Redevelopment is officially underway marking a major milestone in delivering new and enhanced health services for Glen Innes and surrounding communities.

The Minns Labor Government is committed to ensuring communities across NSW have greater access to healthcare services closer to home.

The Glen Innes Hospital Redevelopment will deliver a new acute services building on the existing hospital campus, housing an expanded emergency department, medical imaging, ambulance drop-off and bays, back of house, mortuary and new main entry.  

Health staff from Glen Innes Hospital, along with stakeholders and members of the community joined project team members for a traditional sod turn to celebrate the start of main works construction.

To support construction, a temporary internal access road is being built on the eastern side of the hospital campus. The next phase of works will include the creation of the new ambulance access.

The Glen Innes Hospital will continue to operate as normal during construction, providing care for the Glen Innes and surrounding communities, and will remain as a District Hospital, networked to Armidale and Tamworth hospitals for access to specialist health services.

Access to the hospital via Taylor Street remains unchanged and will continue to be available during construction. The driveway from Ferguson Street/Gwydir Highway is reserved for Ambulance and mortuary access, construction activities and access for the Museum volunteers.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2028.

Consultation with staff, community and stakeholders will continue to ensure the new hospital building is a welcoming environment that reflects the heritage and culture of the region.

The project is being delivered by Health Infrastructure in partnership with Hunter New England Local Health District and main works contractor, TCQ Construction.

The Minns Labor Government is investing $12.4 billion to deliver 32 new or upgraded hospitals, including $3.5 billion over four years for hospitals across regional NSW.

A community forum was held in April 2026 to provide local businesses with information on opportunities to support and participate construction for the redevelopment. For more information email sariah@tcqconstruction.com.au or visit: https://gateway.icn.org.au/projects/17890

Further information on the redevelopment is available by visiting the project website: https://www.nsw.gov.au/glen-innes-hospital-redevelopment

Minister for Regional Health Ryan Park:

“Ensuring rural and regional communities have access to the best healthcare is a key priority for the Minns Labor Government, and this $50 million investment in the Glen Innes Hospital Redevelopment will deliver modern health facilities to support our hardworking health staff and the local community.

“In the coming months, the community will see construction ramp up as the acute services building starts to take shape.

“Importantly, all hospital services will continue to operate as normal during construction, so the community can be assured they will continue to receive the care they need when they need it.”

Labor Spokesperson for Northern Tablelands Peter Primrose:

“The redevelopment of the Glen Innes Hospital ensures that communities in and around the Glen Innes Severn region have access to modern facilities that are better equipped for hardworking health workers to provide necessary health care to patients.

“The commencement of the construction for the Hospital is a significant milestone as it delivers a high-quality health facility that has been purpose built for patients, visitors, and staff that will serve the surround region for year to come.

“It has been fantastic to see local trades and businesses being given the chance to play a key role in the Hospital’s redevelopment, supporting the local community, local economy, and workforce.”

The Productivity & Equality Commission will undertake a review into older patients stranded in hospital, including assessing the costs and impacts of stranded patients.

This review comes after the latest Health Ministers Meeting, where the NSW Government successfully led a push for a national Hospital Discharge Joint Taskforce to address discharge delays in Australia’s public hospital system.

The Productivity & Equality Commission review will deliver recommendations on ways to reduce discharge delays; improve access to suitable care; and relieve pressure on hospitals. The commission will conclude its review within six months.

Stranded aged care patients increasing

The number of patients ready to be discharged but unable to leave a NSW public hospital because they are unable to obtain a Commonwealth aged care placement is surging, from 300 in December 2023 to 776 in 2025. The number of days stranded in a hospital bed by these patients has also escalated from 11,943 in December 2023 to 44,487 in 2025.

Productivity & Equality Commission review

NSW Health will assist the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission to understand what can be done inside and outside of hospitals for patients to receive the most appropriate care; improve access and supply of that care; and provide NSW Health staff to the review team to help develop robust, evidence-based recommendations.

Interstate taskforce

The national Hospital Discharge Joint Taskforce, co-led by the Commonwealth and NSW Governments, will commence alongside the NSW Productivity and Equality Commission review. It will help deliver policy and improve outcomes for patients exceeding their estimated date of discharge due to delayed access to aged care and NDIS placements.

While access to aged care placements is a Commonwealth responsibility, the NSW Government has had to step in to provide a range of measures to protect patients from being stranded including aged care outreach initiatives in which doctors visit aged care patients in their home or residences potentially sparing them a visit to the ED.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey:

“The current situation is unfair for patients and unsustainable for the broader hospital system.

“It’s blocking the beds we badly need for more critical cases.

“We need to find a better way to help patients who are becoming stranded, while they wait to get the Commonwealth aged care support they need.

“While this is a national problem, we cannot simply wait for the Federal response.”

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“Every day in New South Wales, there is the equivalent of an entire hospital taken offline because people cannot access Commonwealth aged care placements.

“Hospitals were not designed for indefinite stays and these people deserve better.

“Today, I am announcing that the Productivity and Equality Commissioner will undertake a review into this alarming and unsustainable trend which has tripled in just the past three years.

“While we continue to advocate to the Commonwealth, we can’t afford to wait for them.

“We already have a range of initiatives in place to try to protect patients from being stranded and if there’s more we can do, this review will uncover it.”

The Minns Labor Government will today introduce a new law to speed up the delivery of key renewable energy projects, to power large energy users as coal-fired power stations exit the system.

The proposed legislation will allow the NSW Energy Minister to identify the highest-priority renewable energy projects in the planning pipeline, and prioritise them for streamlining.

It will result in more streamlined approvals for generation, storage and network projects that will power homes, industry and economic growth.

The proposed law will not remove any environmental or community assessment requirements. Developers will still need to meet all relevant planning, environmental and consultation obligations.

Priority energy projects must demonstrate best practice in how they work with landholders and communities, particularly in regional NSW.

The NSW energy grid is undergoing its biggest transformation in decades, with the Minns Labor Government supporting new energy infrastructure to replace our retiring power stations, support the ongoing operation of heavy industry and power new economic growth across the state.

Renewable energy already provides about 36 per cent of NSW’s annual electricity supply. In a first for NSW, there were multiple periods in summer when renewable energy accounted for more than 80 per cent of the electricity supply mix, contributing to keeping lights and air conditioners running.

The proposed law is designed to build on this progress, by accelerating the infrastructure needed to generate, store and move clean energy across the state.

The Energy Legislation Amendment (Prioritising Renewable Energy) Bill 2026 will also support the effective and consistent implementation of the NSW Benefit-Sharing Guideline, ensuring councils and communities hosting projects receive associated benefits.

More than $180 million in benefits have been committed to communities since the guideline’s introduction in November 2024. This is in addition to the Renewable Energy Zone community and employment benefit funds coordinated by EnergyCo.

Further reforms are also in development to improve the way projects are referred to the Independent Planning Commission for determination, to ensure NSW residents continue to have a strong voice while avoiding unnecessary delays to energy projects that are critical to NSW.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe said:

“The Minns Labor Government is committed to ensuring reliable, affordable energy for our heavy industries like the Tomago aluminium smelter, and to power economic growth across the state.

“This new legislation will mean infrastructure projects that are critical for manufacturing jobs, economic growth and energy affordability don’t get stuck in the queue.

“No matter where you live in this state, you will benefit from us getting on with the job and delivering quality renewable projects as fast as we can.”

Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully said:

“With a growing pipeline of energy projects ahead of us, we need a planning system that can support achieving our ambitious energy targets.

“Since 2023, we’ve already reduced assessment times for renewable energy projects by almost 20 per cent while delivering 50 per cent more approvals.

“These reforms build on that success by enshrining the community benefit scheme and streamlining prioritised projects in the planning system with the most potential to power our state’s future, making sure the right projects are delivered at the right time in the right places in line with our energy goals.

“These reforms will also make sure critical projects are not being delayed by objections from people thousands of kilometres away who will never be impacted by them – NSW locals should and will have the loudest voice.”