Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Ministers statements: healthcare workforce

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (14:20): I rise to update the house on how the Andrews Labor government is investing in our healthcare workforce by making it free to study nursing and midwifery here in Victoria for more than 10,000 students. A further 7000 nurses and midwives will be supported to upskill through scholarships that are available to them in areas of critical need for our health service, all through our government’s $270 million project.

In early April the Premier and I visited Monash University to talk to some of this year’s nursing and midwifery students. It was great there to meet young Ashlyn. Ashlyn is an intelligent, enthusiastic young woman who is going to make a great contribution to our healthcare system. Now, Ashlyn is from Tassie, and she received four offers to study nursing and midwifery in Tassie, in Queensland, in New South Wales and in Victoria. But where did she choose? She chose Victoria, and we welcome Ashlyn –

Members interjecting.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: Yes, a young First Nations woman, as the Premier has reminded me. So our government will be providing Ashlyn $3000 every year for the first three years of her degree and on the completion of her degree and two years in our public health system another $7500. What we know is that this initiative is making Victoria the place to be if you want to study nursing and midwifery and work in our fantastic healthcare system.

Since we came to government the number of nurses in our system has increased by more than 10,000 to 46,000, but under these initiatives we are adding more than 20,000 nurses and midwives to our healthcare system, and unlike those opposite, who relentlessly attack our healthcare workers at every opportunity, we will always stand by them.