Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:15): My question is to the Minister for Ambulance Services. Tragically, Swan Hill’s David Edwards watched his father die because they were unable to get an ambulance to attend a 000 call. Mr Edwards’s family have many questions they want answered by the government, but each request for an explanation goes unanswered. When will the government finally give an explanation to the family as to why an ambulance failed to attend this situation, and when will the government finally offer an unreserved apology to Mr Edwards’s family after this situation ultimately cost him his life?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:16): Can I thank the member for Murray Plains for his question. All tragic circumstances, whether that particular example or any of the others that the government has recognised and acknowledged—and indeed ESTA, more importantly, has recognised and acknowledged—that have delayed the response from ESTA to ambulances are matters that clearly the government and all of the community regret. The government apologises for the pain of the families who have lost loved ones in those circumstances. I take this opportunity to pass on, I am sure, all the Parliament’s and all the communities’, including the honourable member’s community in Swan Hill’s, condolences to that particular family.

In regard to a particular inquiry as to how circumstances in particular cases are dealt with, in addition to my answer to the honourable Leader of the Opposition on the work through the inspector-general of emergency management; the work through Graham Ashton, former Chief Commissioner of Police; or indeed the recent package announced by the honourable Minister for Emergency Services, there are of course other processes whereby the coroner quite rightly gets involved in these processes. So it would not be appropriate for any member of the government or indeed any member of the community to pre-empt those processes. I would take this opportunity to once again reiterate on behalf of I am sure the government, the Parliament and the wider Victorian community our deep condolences to that family and indeed any family who have lost loved ones in what we recognise are unacceptable circumstances and which, more importantly, the government has responded to with its record package of investment announced yesterday by the Minister for Emergency Services.

Having said all of that, I also reiterate the comments I made earlier to the honourable Leader of the Opposition in regard to the critical investments that this government has historically made, is continuing to make and which immediately prior to the onset of the global pandemic saw the best ever rates of responses to our ESTA and ambulance services. It is this government’s commitment to revisit those issues and support our ambulance services and more importantly support ESTA and the wider Victorian community to return to if not to exceed those levels of performance—performances that I think we can take great certainty in knowing, having achieved them through this government’s partnership and investment, we will return to.

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (14:19): Minister, if Victorians are calling 000 in a life-and-death situation like the Edwards family did and the calls are going unanswered, what should Victorians do?

Mr FOLEY (Albert Park—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Minister for Equality) (14:19): I thank the Leader of The Nationals for his question. Victorians should follow the advice of the public health officials here. They should follow the advice, the entire advice, of those public health officials. They should phone 000, and in doing so they should make sure that in phoning 000—though somewhere between 20 and 25 per cent of those calls that go to 000 are not emergency calls, which are sadly taking up substantial amounts of public efforts and which can be on the phone for—

Mr Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on the issue of relevance, this is a life-and-death situation, and tragically we have seen lives lost. A genuine question I ask you to bring the minister back to answering is if people are ringing 000 in a life-and-death situation and it goes unanswered, what should they do? I ask you to bring the minister back to actually answering that question because it is just so important to Victorians.

Mr FOLEY: On the point of order, Speaker, no-one disputes the importance of the question the honourable member asked. I was asked a question about what people should do. I was being directly relevant. We have specific advice from health officials on the record publicly to call 000 and in so doing make sure that that is dealt with in an appropriate way.

The SPEAKER: I need to rule on that point of order. The minister is being relevant to the question that has been asked.

Mr FOLEY: What we had, particularly over December and January, was a terrible coming together of circumstances in the context of the highest levels of demand on our emergency services, the telecommunications authority, the ambulance service and the whole health system in its history, and in that regard I urge everyone to follow the public health advice— (Time expired)