Ministers statements: medical research
Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (14:05): I rise to update the house on the Andrews Labor government’s continued investment to cement Victoria’s place as a global leader in medical research. There are three great centres of medical research in the world: Boston, London and Melbourne. By embedding the world’s very best research in our healthcare system we are delivering better outcomes for all Victorians. This morning the Premier and I had the privilege of turning the first sod on the construction of the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery at St Vincent’s Hospital. As Aikenhead said, engineering is the future of medicine, and we are proud that this centre is Australia’s first hospital-based biomedical engineering research facility. The ACMD will bring the world’s best minds to Melbourne to tackle future health challenges in chronic disease through new technologies that will help Victorians live longer and healthier lives. Those technologies include 3D printed and implantable devices, robotic hands, heart tissue engineering and regenerative medicine like spinal cord repair. Labor is proud to have invested $1.3 billion in health and medical research since 2014. This includes $60 million for the Aikenhead centre, $400 million for the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease, $50 million to secure an mRNA research and manufacturing hub and $35 million for the Victorian Paediatric Cancer Consortium. Labor will always back our scientists, our clinicians, our researchers and our engineers. The Andrews Labor government will continue to deliver the very best medical research facilities in the world to drive innovation, to create jobs and most importantly to save the lives of Victorians and those of people from around the world.