It has upset local union representatives, who claim they did not run a “fear-filled campaign,” but rather were only seeking to clarify the confusion that surrounded various utterances from the Local Health District (LHD).

The letter was sent by Ms Goward personally to some Goulburn residents and spoke about how the Bourke Street Health Service would not be closing. It stated: “The news is welcome after many weeks of uncertainty and false, fear-filled campaigns by the Health Services Union.”

President of Goulburn Labor Jason Shepherd said the campaign was never “fear-filled” but was based on the actual announcements from the SNSW LHD that the Bourke Street Health Services would close, to which the community, not just the unions, said a loud "no".

“It is rich for Ms Goward to claim any responsibility to halting the closure other then her having to retreat in the face of public pressure,” Mr Shepherd said. 

“It was the community that stopped the closure and stopped the privatisation of the Goulburn Base Hospital.

“The SNSW LHD only confirmed the Bourke Street Health Service would not close in mid January 2017 after nearly six months of community action and uncertainty. There is nothing ‘fear-filled’ in defending your community from unwarranted cuts to services especially when they deal with the most ill in our community.”

His comments were echoed by president of Goulburn District Unions, Anna Wurth-Crawford. 

“After months of conflicting information and lack of consultation from the LHD and Deputy Health Minister Ms Goward, an announcement has been made that the Bourke Street Health Service will not close. This is welcome news for the community and the staff at Bourke Street,” Ms Wurth-Crawford said.  

“After months of campaigning and signing petitions, we have a positive result. Goulburn will maintain this essential health service and staff can feel more secure about their jobs. But this would not have happened without the Nurses Association, HSU and the NSW Unions and their members.” 

Meanwhile, Ms Goward reiterated her comments on Thursday.

“I promised the community I would make sure Bourke Street would not close and that had the unions running scared. They told Goulburn that services and jobs would be lost and that simply wasn't true,” Ms Goward said. “I won't stop calling out the unions when they project fear on our community. It's just not on.”