Tuesday, 30 August 2022

 Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (19:18): (6513) I am so incredibly thankful for and proud of the work our healthcare workers and staff in healthcare settings are doing locally and across the state. Day in, day out they continue to turn up and give people the care they need when they need it. I am also proud of the continued investment by the state Labor government to ensure we support our healthcare heroes and patients to get the best care. In the recent budget we delivered a $12 billion boost to health care in Victoria, and even more recently we announced that we are making it free to study nursing and midwifery from 2023, helping to recruit and train 17 000 nurses and midwives on top of the work already announced. I wish to raise a matter for the Minister for Health: what does the $12 billion investment in the budget for health care in Victoria and the other continued record health investments this Labor government delivers mean for Knox more specifically?

Across the state we know the investment in this year’s budget will provide for better hospitals, more paramedics—with over 400 extra on the road this year alone—and better care wherever you are. It will also deliver 7000 more healthcare workers, of which 5000 are nurses and paramedics, and nearly 400 more 000 call takers. This investment also is not a new thing—Labor has always backed in health every step of the way, while others cut at every turn. We have recruited hundreds more paramedics and more than 22 000 health workers since we were elected, including 8500 who joined the workforce during the pandemic. We do not cut funding to health like we have seen from previous coalition governments, and we certainly did not attack the pay and conditions of paramedics like we saw years ago.

We know the impact of staff shortages from illness and COVID-19 is a substantial challenge, and we are doing everything we can to meet this unprecedented demand. All states’ health and ambulance systems are under unprecedented pressure, and the Labor government and importantly our healthcare heroes are continuing to respond to those challenges. Recently we announced additional funding to assist with more efficient triage off-load processes for ambulances to hospitals and onwards. We are also getting on with delivering a $1.5 billion COVID catch-up plan to increase elective surgery beyond prepandemic levels, new hospitals, more mental health nurses, more support for emergency departments to meet growing demand and more support for women’s health, safety and wellbeing.

The Labor government has invested more than $158 billion in Victoria’s health system since coming to office, ensuring all Victorians have access to the care, treatment and support they need to stay happy, healthy and well. Only Labor can be trusted to deliver a better health system, because only Labor ever has. Thank you so much again to our healthcare heroes across the state who, during unprecedented demand in the healthcare system, continue to do incredible work each and every day. You will always have my and this government’s support.