The Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital at Wollongbar was officially opened today, making Ballina Shire home to not one, but two world-class facilities for native animals. 

While the region leads the nation in animal care, many locals – including the mayor – are asking: why can’t we do the same for people?

On the sidelines of the opening, Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader used the moment to renew her call for urgent action on the state of Ballina’s general hospital, describing it as dangerously under-resourced and in desperate need of a complete rebuild.

“Since I first spoke out two weeks ago, I’ve been inundated,” she told Ballina News Daily. “The stories I’m hearing from hospital staff and residents are disturbing. People deserve better.”

Among the issues raised:

• No security guards on duty, even after recent incidents of car break-ins and arson outside the emergency department
  
• Frequent nights with no doctor on duty — just one registered nurse and a junior nurse managing an entire 60-bed facility
  
• Ambulances arriving with no medical staff available to treat patients
  
• Emergency short-stay beds sitting idle as storage due to lack of resources
  
• Long-term closures of essential wards like transitional care
  

“There’s a clear disparity,” Cr Cadwallader said. “Hospitals in neighbouring towns are better staffed and funded. 

At Byron, doctors are reportedly paid $50 more per hour than in Ballina. So why would they come here?”

She said the community needed to rally behind the idea of a new, fit-for-purpose hospital — and called on Health Minister Ryan Park to commit to securing land now, before future development makes a central site impossible.

“We need a greenfield site locked in. Full credit to those who’ve worked so hard to get this new wildlife hospital open.  We need to take a page from the wildlife hospital playbook — collaboration across all levels of government, community drive, and a clear plan.”

A Win for Wildlife

Despite the health system concerns, today’s official opening of the $1.8 million Northern Rivers Wildlife Hospital marked a major milestone for native animal care in the region.

Located on Crown land at the Wollongbar Agriculture Research Station site and built with a combination of community fundraising and government grants, the facility will serve as a permanent hub for treatment, rehabilitation, and research into native wildlife injuries.

Referring to Ballina’s other facility, the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital based at Tintenbar, Mayor Cadwallader said the two centres would complement each other.

“Matilda, the Byron-based mobile hospital, is critical for emergency callouts, but this new facility offers something different — a permanent place for recovery and rehabilitation,” she said. “This is a purpose-built home for wildlife care.”

Local carers Kerry-Anne Manning and Cheryl Cochran say the need is real and both Ballina Shire wildlife hospitals will be kept busy.

“We’ve had to take injured wildlife all the way to Currumbin because of the volume of cases and the lack of nearby facilities,” Manning said.

“This changes everything — especially for rescues to the west of the region.”

Years in the Making

Founding board member Ninian Gemmell shared the long journey to get to this point, dating back to a conversation around a Ballina dining room table in 2018.

“We had no money, no land — just a vision,” he said. “Six years later, with the help of community members, local MPs, the DPI, Crown Lands, and organisations like WWF Australia, we’ve created something truly special.”

The site — selected for its safety from flood and fire risk and its central location across seven local government areas — was developed with the support of grants from both state and federal governments, including Black Summer Bushfire Recovery funding and regional koala conservation initiatives.

The Final Word

As the ribbon was cut today, Mayor Cadwallader reflected on what the new hospital represents — and what it might inspire.

“This is a great win for wildlife — and for Ballina Shire,” she said. “But now let’s apply the same determination to give our human hospital the future it deserves.”