Hundreds of people filled Mount Gambier’s Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre on Tuesday night to show their support for a dedicated radiation therapy treatment centre in the Limestone Coast.

The meeting was organised by the Limestone Coast Radiation Treatment Working Group, after around 20,000 people signed a petition addressed to the State Government, urging it to spend $4.3m of Federal Government funding allocated for radiation treatment services in the region.

The petition has been presented to the State Parliament and will be subject of a legislative review committee, but the State Government remains uncommitted to supporting the establishment of radiation treatment services that would see cancer patients able to receive treatment closer to home.

Tuesday night’s free open forum was held to give the community the opportunity to hear from the working party, interested stakeholders and community leaders.

Those who attended heard from the Icon Group’s Paul Fenton, Damien Williams from Cancer Care, RTAG’s Joel Parrish, Lorraine Musgrove from the- Mount Gambier Cancer Support Group, Genesis Care’s Duy Tran, State Liberal Leader David Speirs and Mount Gambier resident and cancer patient Michelle Riley.

Radiation Treatment Limestone Coast Working Party chair Lachlan Haynes said the forum was an opportunity to update everyone on how the issue had progressed.

Mr Haynes said the forum educated people on what it was like for patients travelling to Warrnambool or Adelaide for treatment and the reality of this leading to lower outcomes of cancer treatment.

“I feel really buoyant, it was great, it was wonderful to reconnect with the community again, which has supported us,” he said.

“It was great to bring such high quality speakers and particularly hear from the sufferers and the carer support group, we dispelled so many myths and misinformation.

“People had the capacity to ask questions and get really, true honest answers about the provision of the service versus some of the myths or misconceptions that are out there in the community.”

Mr Haynes said there were people from across the Limestone Coast in attendance, with others joining a livestream of the event online.

“I think it went very positively, it was great the community are back reengaged with the issue after the petition, we were able to tell them how busy we have been on their behalf,” he said.

“David (Speirs) made it very clear that politicians like himself and Penny (Pratt) who were there, we have got their attention, but the politicians who were not there we have also got their attention.

“Our advocacy is strengthened from tonight, the Opposition has indicated through David and Penny they are right behind us in their push.

“We are further strengthened in our belief that we had the key providers there tonight, for them to come and assist us in our forum speaks volumes in their confidence that Mount Gambier and the Limestone Coast can support this service, it’s a really strong endorsement.”