Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Federal health funding

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:02): My question is to the Minister for Health. In last week’s federal Labor budget Victoria only received $55 million towards community health, hospitals and infrastructure projects over the next two years – a quarter of the amount allocated to New South Wales. Why has the minister failed to secure Victoria’s fair share of health infrastructure funding?

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (14:03): I welcome the question from the member for Lowan, who yesterday took us on a trip down memory lane with a question relating to something that happened back in 2016 under the Turnbull government. So let me take this opportunity to remind the member –

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, Speaker, I think you will expect this, but on relevance, this question is specific to the minister failing to secure Victoria’s fair share of health infrastructure funding. She had an opportunity to answer that question yesterday. She did not know. Perhaps she should have done her research and answered it yesterday.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! I would ask members not to elaborate in their points of order. The Minister for Health had only just commenced her answer. She was being relevant, and I think she was about to provide some context.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: Indeed I was. I think it is important that the house understand that over the time that our government has been in office here in Victoria we have been systematically neglected by the former federal Liberal–National coalition government and not a peep did we ever hear from those on the other side. Not once did they ask us or back us in when we were fighting for Victoria’s fair share of health funding. I might take this opportunity, given that I have been asked about federal budgets, to remind the member for Lowan that under the previous Liberal–National coalition government we saw the former health minister, now deputy opposition leader, deliver the biggest cut to hospital funding in history. We had a government that destroyed primary care. Primary care under the previous Liberal–National federal government was broken.

Members interjecting.

Emma Kealy: On a point of order, on relevance, this question was specific to the federal Labor government’s budget handed down just last week, when Victoria got $55 million and New South Wales got $210 million.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: On the point of order, the member for Lowan has asked me about the Victorian government’s advocacy in relation to federal government budgets. There is a story to be told here and one that I know that members of the house are wanting to hear.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister was referring to federal budget funding as well as infrastructure funding for health. The minister was being responsive to the question. I ask the minister to come back to the answer.

Mary-Anne THOMAS: As I was saying, we have advocated in the entire time that we have been in government to the federal government for our fair share of funding when it comes to health funding, and I have got to say that we were comprehensively neglected by the former Liberal–National government. That is why it is now good to have a partner in Canberra, one that we can work with and one that is looking to partner with us to firstly improve primary care, which is a key responsibility of the federal government and one which was comprehensively neglected. Fixing Medicare has to be the key priority for any federal government, because if Medicare is fixed we will see a real impact on our system. At the moment we are carrying the load of primary care as well as acute care. I thank the member on the other side for her question, and I look forward to hearing more from her.

Emma KEALY (Lowan) (14:07): Is the minister’s failure to secure federal health infrastructure funding the reason that the upgrade of Daylesford hospital will not happen?

Mary-Anne THOMAS (Macedon – Leader of the House, Minister for Health, Minister for Health Infrastructure, Minister for Medical Research) (14:07): Let me make this point: no government in the history of this nation has invested more money into health infrastructure than the Andrews Labor government. Every single day we consider the needs of our health services right across the state, and we make those decisions based on where the need is greatest for that investment.