Gina Rinehart donates $16 million to boost healthcare for rural Australians
Health care for Australians living in rural and remote areas will be given a $16m lift thanks to donations to the Royal Flying Doctor from Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart.
The Rinehart Medical Foundation and Hancock Prospecting will give major cash boosts to the Queensland, NSW and WA sectors of the 95-year-old organisation, which relies on donations to fund a third of the health care it provides.
Royal Flying Doctor Service (South Eastern Section) Chief Executive Officer Greg Sam said the $4 million boost for NSW comes at a “challenging” time in its history as the RFDS had played a critical role delivering essential healthcare and more than 32,000 Covid vaccinations to remote and vulnerable communities during the pandemic“. Since then, the RFDS has continued to deliver high quality care to rural and remote NSW communities, whilst navigating increasingly difficult economic conditions and rising costs,” Mr Sam said.
The $4 million donation in Queensland will contribute to the fit-out of a new Beechcraft King Air 360 aircraft and operations at its Brisbane base which is about to be redeveloped.
RFDS (Queensland Section) Chief Executive Officer Meredith Staib said the gift would continue to nurture quality patient care and help quicken response times.
“On a typical day, we have 10 flights come through our Brisbane base and last year alone, more than 4,250 patients from 63 different locations passed through this area of operations – numbers we expect to grow substantially once the new base is built,” Ms Staib said.
“The multimillion-dollar gift will help ensure that all Queenslanders – no matter where they live, work and play across the state – can feel safe in knowing that they are connected to the best medical care available,” Ms Staib said.
In addition, the Rinehart Medical Foundation and Roy Hill, Hancock Prospecting’s iron ore mine in the Pilbara, have agreed to an $8 million partnership with the RFDS in Western Australia.
The donation will pay for the purchase and fit-out of a new Swiss-built Pilatus aircraft which will be delivered in 2026.
The RFDS said Mrs Rinehart’s family association with the organisation goes back to the 1950s when her mother, Hope Hancock, used to host fundraisers at home.
The Rinehart Medical Foundation also provided a critical $6 million donation to the RFDS at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The contribution follows Mrs Rinehart’s $5 million gift last week to the Sydney Childrens’ Hospitals Foundation.