The primary care sector is not as strong as it could be, however, and poorer health and access to health care persists in rural and remote areas. Several steps need to be taken if the ambition of having primary care front and centre of the health system, particularly to tackle chronic diseases, is to be realised. Transparent reporting of a wider set of quality and outcome measures will enhance the performance and status of the sector and assist in developing a specialist primary care workforce, a closely linked priority.