Nationals leader and deputy PM, Michael McCormack told the National Press Club yesterday there needs to be “a better way” to attract doctors to the bush, such as having students do all their study in country towns. This is an article of National Party faith, which supporters of the Murray Darling Medical School hope will be enacted in the Budget. But Mr McCormack did not mention the MDMS and while he acknowledged Andrew Gee’s (Nats-NSW) advocacy he said there were still “hurdles to pass” – by which he might have meant the assiduous and adamant opposition to the MDMS from medical schools with regional training programmes. Alas, we did not find out – regional media journalists did not press him on the MDMS.