Tuesday, 29 August 2023

Motions

Budget papers 2023–24

Debate resumed on motion of Mary-Anne Thomas:

That this house takes note of the 2023–24 budget papers.

Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (17:38): I am glad to rise again and continue my contribution to take note of the 2023–24 budget. Before I had to sit down the other day, I was just winding up on the timber industry, and now I am going to come to the West Gippsland Hospital and my concerns and my constituents’ concerns about the funding that this government has done in this budget paper for health. Now, at the election they committed about $4.2 billion, and in this budget there is only $320 million committed, which is about 8 per cent of that commitment, to start seven hospitals. The constituents in Narracan and West Gippsland are very concerned about this hospital. It is something that my community has been waiting a very long time for, and to have $320 million allocated for seven hospitals is nowhere near what is required to build the West Gippsland Hospital. The government committed $610 million to $675 million to build that hospital, and with this 8 per cent and not knowing even how much of that $320 million will be given to West Gippsland Hospital, my community has obvious concerns. I have asked the minister to tell me how much he has allocated, and that information is still not forthcoming.

But what surprises me in this budget – well, it should not be a surprise, as it is a cruel budget and a cruel budget for every hardworking Victorian in Victoria, obviously – is I do not understand why the government has hit these hardworking Victorians with the property tax. These were Victorians with investment properties. Through COVID they were the good Samaritans of COVID. For two years they either froze their rent, discounted rent or did not even charge rent. They have suffered. A lot of people were owed tens of thousands of dollars through COVID. Now on the back end of that interest rates have gone up. Their interest rates have gone up. The average mortgage has gone up $1000 a month. For the government to turn around now and hit them with a property tax – this will affect 2.5 million Victorians, because they cannot afford to keep this up. They just cannot afford it. The people that own these investment properties cannot bear the cost anymore. Those costs will get passed down to renters, there is no doubt about that, because they have to survive as well. This property tax is going to affect 2.5 million Victorians, and I do not think the government has thought about that. I think it is cruel, what they have done to these people who own investment properties – the people that were, in my opinion, the good Samaritans of COVID, and I do not think that anyone in this chamber can argue with that.

But what is concerning me now is the debt level. We have gone from $171 billion to $226 billion of forecast debt. I know the government has budget blowouts on every project they do; I did not expect a blowout of the debt. I thought they could have got that right, but obviously not. $226 billion of forecast debt costing in interest $15 million a day today. $15 million a day is phenomenal. For $15 million a day for two weeks in my electorate I could have got a $3 million road study. I could have got two new primary schools for Warragul and Drouin. I could have got a 24-hour police station for Drouin. I could have fixed the Tynong North Road intersection – which is dangerous, and it is only a matter of time before there is a fatality there – that the government seems to be ignoring. I could have fixed the Thorpdale slip, which 70 per cent of Australia’s potatoes come off in B-doubles, and they have got to go down this dangerous road that continually is ignored by this government. I could have got a sewer for Walhalla, which I am desperate to get, because they are under pressure there. I could have got funding for major roundabouts in Warragul and Drouin, which are underfunded at the moment. I could have fixed Davey Drive in Trafalgar as well. I could have done all that for two weeks interest – two weeks interest only.

For anyone on this side of the chamber to tell me this is a good budget, I could not disagree more. I could not disagree more because what we are seeing now is over 7600 businesses have closed since this time last year. That is telling me that the business community of Victoria has lost confidence in this government. It is the only way I can explain it, because if businesses are up and about, they do not shut the doors. The increase of WorkCover premiums from 42 per cent to 75 per cent is killing businesses. They just cannot cope with this budget and what the government has done. I had Leigh Rees, a contractor that I have known for many years, in my office the other day. Leigh’s WorkCover premium has jumped from $22,000 to $37,000, a $15,000 increase, and he has got to try and absorb that cost. Well, he cannot absorb it forever; he will have to pass it on, and if he passes it on, it makes him uncompetitive in tenders. This budget is killing business in Victoria.

Then I will talk about the Commonwealth Games – or the con games, as we like to call it on this side of the chamber. It was phenomenal that the government went ahead even putting in a submission for this, and when I look at the Commonwealth Games budget paper that was put out by the government – and we are talking a $4.4 billion blowout from the best-case scenario to now – what amazes me about this is when you read it at the bottom it says part of the problem with this was accommodation shortfalls in the regions increasing costs. This is a problem with the city-centric government, because if they got out of Spring Street and they went to the regions, they would have known there were accommodation issues. Anyone in the regions pretty well scratched their head and said where’s everybody going to stay, so for the government to actually blame that on accommodation shortfalls is phenomenal. It is phenomenal because that is what happens when you do not get out of the city. That is what happens when you do not get to the regions to see what is actually going on.

They should never have put in a bid for these games because they did not do the homework. They did not do the homework on the Commonwealth Games. I believe the government knew about this quite a while ago, and I believe this because in the federal budget there was no money from the Prime Minister to these Commonwealth Games. Why is that? The Prime Minister and the Premier are pretty good mates. We have seen them cooking with gas on barbecues, so we know they like their gas. We have seen them cooking with gas, and I believe the Premier probably rang him up and said, ‘Don’t give us any money, because we’re cancelling’. I think the Premier knew well before that these games were going to be cancelled. The Premier knew that they could not deliver them. They did not have the resources to deliver these games. They never had the resources to deliver these games, and that is why we have blown over $600 million again. It is $600 million for zero.

You have got to forgive the regions if they do not believe the government is going to invest in their legacy, because they have just pulled the Commonwealth Games. Regional Victoria is very sceptical of this government, and they have every right to be, because with regional Victoria this government continually breaks promises. That is what people are getting angry with and that is why people down our away and in the member for Morwell’s community are upset, because they continually undermine regional Victoria.

Just in closing, in my last 40-odd seconds, I would like to point out the Assistant Treasurer’s comments to the member for Nepean in the last sitting week about what comes first: the election comes first, then the budget. I can guarantee you if this budget had come before the last election, there would not be as many members over on that side the chamber. I can guarantee you that. If the Assistant Treasurer really wants to do Victorians justice, if he really wants to make a difference to their cost of living, maybe he should give them some share advice before he signs a contract.

Natalie HUTCHINS (Sydenham – Minister for Education, Minister for Women) (17:47): I rise to speak on the motion noting the 2023–24 budget papers. I am thrilled to speak on this motion, as the budget continues to deliver fantastic outcomes for our education system and helps us to deliver critical services that Victorians need and deserve.

As Minister for Education it is great to continue the work that really is this government’s landmark in terms of Education State reform, one that is leading the nation in so many ways. During this government’s first eight years in government, we invested $27.1 billion into education across the state. This investment delivered first-class facilities throughout our new schools and school upgrade programs. It has meant critical one-on-one support has been available, particularly for students experiencing social challenges and mental health challenges and certainly students with a disability. It has ensured that we have a strong teaching workforce, because teachers are the absolute backbone of our education system. Can I take this opportunity to thank the former Minister for Education James Merlino for his dedication to improving Victoria’s education system and for some of the great results that we are seeing today because of his legacy. We are also seeing the results of these investments in Victoria’s nation-leading results in NAPLAN, which I talked about earlier in this place. We are home to the best student-to-teacher ratio in the country, and Victoria is building almost half of all new schools across the entire country.

This budget continues that critical work. It invests a further $3.1 billion to ensure that all Victorian students have access to an education system that will support them to thrive. This will ensure we continue to build on the incredible progress that we have made since coming to government. The budget invests a further $2 billion into our school infrastructure program, building on the unprecedented $14.9 billion investment we have made in buildings, upgrades and extensions to our schools.

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of officially opening 13 new schools across our state in the first week of term 1. It was so exciting to see the joy of students coming to school for the first time in these new facilities in their new uniforms – with massive pride – as well as the pride on the faces of the educators teaching them. This is all part of the government’s commitment to building 100 new schools by 2026, with a further 14 schools set to open their doors next year. This latest budget provides $594.2 million to deliver nine new schools, to plan for a further three and to buy land for future schools. This package will also deliver the second stage of two recently opened schools to deliver additional student placements across our growth areas. It also provides funding to deliver capital upgrades to 47 schools as well as funding to start planning and designs for upgrades at a further 54 schools. We are also investing a further $450 million in upgrading and modernising non-government schools across the state. One-third of all Victorian students attend non-government schools, and this investment will help improve the contribution that they make.

This investment in schools infrastructure will ensure that we can continue delivering state-of-the-art facilities for schools across the state. This means new classrooms, new gyms, new STEM centres and new performing arts centres. We are also continuing to invest in essential maintenance and compliance, ensuring that our schools are maintained to an appropriate standard and that they are accessible by everyone. On top of the extensive improvements to school facilities across the state, this investment will create 3800 jobs across the construction sector in boosting our schools. Labor is doing what matters: investing in great local schools and supporting local jobs in construction across the state.

But we know that even with the best facilities a great education is only possible if we invest in our teaching workforce, and that is exactly what this budget does. It includes $241.7 million of additional funding for targeted initiatives to attract more teachers and additional support for lesson planning. This budget will deliver placement support for pre-service teachers in hard-to-staff schools like in regional and rural areas; flexible working arrangements and enhanced opportunities for school leaders to be able to work part-time; measures to attract more First Nations people into teaching roles; and an expansion of re-engagement services to get teachers back into the profession. I want to thank the Department of Education and Training for the work they have done in outreaching to those teachers that are currently registered but not in our classrooms. They are doing a great power of work to bring them back into our classrooms. To reduce the workload, we will provide high-quality lesson plans, curriculum development resources and professional development opportunities. These measures focus on recruiting more teachers and reducing the teacher workload, ensuring that Victoria remains the state in which to become a teacher.

This budget also provides funding to continue supporting student health and wellbeing and fostering better learning environments, because we know that kids do better when they are happy at school and well engaged. It includes additional funding for the Schools Mental Health Fund and Menu to ensure schools have the support they need to address the wellbeing of their students and the challenges that we have seen in recent years. There are additional investments to support critical health and wellbeing programs, including the primary school nursing program and student support services. We are also increasing support for anti-bullying programs including Safe Schools, and the wonderful I Can program, a program that has been designed and is delivered by individuals and experts with neurodiverse challenges themselves to support and uplift kids that have neurodiverse outcomes and diagnoses. We are continuing to provide free period products in all government schools across the state. We are making these investments because we recognise that the physical and mental health of students is critical to a good education.

Students with a disability will also benefit from additional support, building on the government’s $1.6 billion commitment to disability inclusion reforms across our system. This budget includes an additional $244.8 million to support students with a disability and their families. These include an expansion of the specialist outside-school-hours care to 30 specialist schools – this is an absolute game changer to so many families with kids with disabilities; the introduction of NDIS navigators to every specialist and inclusion school; and funding for the Students with Disabilities Transport Program to deliver six new services. We will also provide grants for specialist schools to build hydrotherapy pools. Applications opened two weeks ago, and I encourage specialist schools who do not have a hydrotherapy pool to apply. This is all about having better resources on campus for kids.

This budget also includes measures aimed at tackling disadvantage and boosting inclusion through targeted cost-of-living measures for Victorian families. This means investing $105.4 million into essential support for student learning, including providing the breakfast club program to 1000 schools across the state, funding for school uniforms and other essential items and funding to provide glasses to kids who need them and cannot afford them. We are providing $168 million in funding for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund. This is an increase to the payments that families from low socio-economic backgrounds can apply for, because we know these kids deserve to have equitable access to education opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. This funding will ensure that students from as many families as possible can continue to partake in school activities like camps.

This budget prepares students for jobs – the jobs of the future – supporting the rollout of One VCE. We will build six new tech schools to provide more than 62,000 additional secondary school students with access to high-tech STEM learning. Acting Speaker Crugnale, if you have been to one of these techs, you will know that they are extremely impressive, and the work they are doing is absolutely nation-leading. We will also support Victoria’s shift to a clean energy future by establishing the Clean Energy Equipment Fund for tech schools to be able to expand in this area and developing the clean energy VET pathway. We will also be supporting an additional 10,000 students to access work experience in in-demand industries such as clean energy.

There are more initiatives in this budget that I could keep going on about, but I need to also turn to some of the outcomes that have been beneficial in my electorate of Sydenham. But before I do that, I just want to say that this budget truly delivers on the commitment of quality education, and it really does ensure that Victoria will maintain its status as the Education State.

This budget is also about providing the services and critical infrastructure that matter to locals and getting on with what we promised, and I am thrilled that we are providing $9.5 million to make sure that the students at Sydenham–Hillside Primary School are thriving in modern facilities. The Sydenham and Hillside campuses are the heartbeats of their respective communities, and this funding will ensure that they have the learning spaces they deserve. This will include a significant expansion across the school, with major upgrades to three buildings across two campuses, including new fencing, oval resurfacing and synthetic turf upgrades to the soccer pitch at the Sydenham campus, and will also accommodate better spaces for our staff. Can I thank the outgoing principal Peter Devereux for his advocacy and many, many years of leadership in the education sector but particularly his years that he gave at Sydenham–Hillside and the vision that he had. I wish him all the luck in his retirement.

This budget also includes $800,000 to deliver a new dog park in the Sydenham electorate, which will ensure locals and their furry friends have an off-leash dog park at their doorstep. I am really looking forward to taking my own little Molly and Murphy out to enjoy this new facility once it is completed.

Sport is a really big part of our community, and I am so proud that we are delivering a new sports precinct and the planning for that at Sydenham Park. Five hundred thousand dollars will go towards the planning and delivery of a sporting precinct at this site, which is so needed by our local clubs. The park itself, Sydenham Park, is a phenomenal space, and I am glad that we are delivering an ongoing commitment to enable the community to enjoy this park, as it has been closed off to the community for over 30 years now. The doors will be opening soon for our community to be able to enjoy this fantastic park.

This budget also is backing community organisations that provide critical services for young Victorians across Sydenham, in particular the $1.53 million that goes towards Le Mana Pasifika to continue their hard work. The team support more than 2000 young Pasifika kids every day to stay engaged in education and to be involved in their local community.

We know that prevention, diversion and early intervention are the most effective, responsible ways of reducing youth crime. That is why we are providing $7.3 million to expand the embedded youth outreach program across Brimbank, Melton and Shepparton police areas. We are also growing support for young people and their families from the South Sudanese community, the Somali community and Afghan backgrounds across Brimbank. We will continue to work with these community groups in tackling the critical youth disengagement that is occurring.

I am really proud to be delivering every election commitment made to the people of Sydenham whilst also planning for the future of our growing western suburbs. This government will not waste a moment in continuing to do exactly what matters. That includes looking after our local areas, looking after the electorate of Sydenham, but most importantly looking after our Education State.

Bill TILLEY (Benambra) (18:01): I just love getting the opportunity to rise in this place and speak after a true believer, but anyway, let me by way of context say: pseudologia fantastica. It is a psychiatric syndrome where patients represent certain fantasies as real occurrences. The National Library of Medicine in the US says psychiatrists commonly encounter this in emergency. The patient presents with an elaborate web of deceptions, including grandiose claims. I reckon those experts might want to jump on the first available plane and have a look at this Labor budget to further their understanding of this condition and how they can claim ‘doing what matters’.

This budget is a mix of half-promises, self-aggrandisement, fantasy and delusion. Everyone knows what a budget is. We have got one at home with all those kids and everyone travelling through. It is a realistic balance of income against expenditure – and the bank of Dad, for all those kids that are listening at home, is closed. We do them at home. We use them when we need to make a major purchase like a car, but unlike this government, when families in Benambra are looking for a people mover they are not googling Aston Martins or Lamborghinis. When they do their shopping, they are not ordering caviar, nor are they looking at booking a table at Vue de Monde. But what we are signing up for in this budget is a consequence of unbridled and unhinged spending on Melbourne-centric projects, a debt projected to climb to $226 billion by 2026–27 that has shackled every home in this state with an $87,000 debt.

A member interjected.

Bill TILLEY: Yes, absolutely I do. Look at them. Look at them out there – believers, true believers all of them over that side.

Members interjecting.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): Through the Chair, member for Benambra.

Bill TILLEY: It is a debt fuelled not by COVID but $30.7 billion in major blowouts on Melbourne projects. Regional Victoria, which is the place I love the best – it is the place that I call home – looks at your tunnels and realises that this is why our roads are killing people and why there is no money for new schools. Following the Minister for Education those observations are interesting – from the true believer when it comes to education – but I will get to that a little bit later. Why are business owners looking to shift across the river into New South Wales? The people in my patch look at these budget dollars, these telephone numbers, and go, ‘So what is the Labor government doing for us?’ What are they doing for the roads where the pavement is crumbling, potholes are shredding tyres, inadequate drainage closes roads and there is the need for traffic lights to manage traffic? Bruce Campbell, a cracker bloke, a real, true Victorian and Aussie from Bullioh wants to know how much longer the Murray Valley Highway will be one lane controlled by traffic lights. This was going back to the end of last year and the beginning of this year. The budget came in at the end of May, and guess what – not a single thing has been done to fix two of those traffic lights. There are now three on the Murray Valley Highway in my patch. The Murray Valley Highway, for those who do not know, goes all the way from Corryong to Mildura. Anyway, how does this budget, the one that was handed down in May, the one that no-one from the government wants to speak to, because here we are with only 25 per cent of speakers – I will not digress on that. This is going to the guillotine on Thursday and there are still a lot of people that have not been able to speak, particularly from the ALP, and that have not been able to truly represent their constituencies.

How is this budget going to ease the rental crisis in Wodonga or any other smaller town in the Benambra patch? How does this budget help Wodonga’s Marilyn Hitchcock, who has been waiting three years for a knee replacement, to get that operation inside the next three years? How does this cut 3522 people on Albury Wodonga Health’s elective surgery waiting list? Now, I know where the Minister for Health is at the moment. She might have hung up by now from the meeting that she was having with Albury Wodonga that commenced at 5:30. She might have got a bit cranky with them. But anyway, I digress.

A member: Have you taken it up with the New South Wales government? Albury Wodonga.

Bill TILLEY: What would you know about border life? You are the one, aren’t you? You are the one – of all of those millions of sperm, you are the one that made it, aren’t you? Good on you, brother.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): Through the Chair, member for Benambra.

Bill TILLEY: How does this budget encourage businesses to set up in Victoria? Through the Chair; sorry, Acting Speaker. When will the families of Tangambalanga and Kiewa get a new school – one where the school buildings are not a hotchpotch of buildings that have been repeatedly renovated? Now, in Tangambalanga, if you could appreciate, there are two large developments. Our infrastructure from taps and toilets, our water authority – they need to work harder. I know the Premier, and I know that there needs to be a hell of a lot more work done in that regard, because we have a housing crisis, and the infrastructure is not going in because the boards of these water authorities that we have right throughout the state of Victoria are too busy talking about gender or First Nations people, God help me, or other matters. They have a primary role, and that is taps and toilets and getting infrastructure into the ground.

Members interjecting.

Bill TILLEY: They are the water authorities, so be offended if you like. Now, when will the families of Tangambalanga be able to get this infrastructure and build their home, their dream, raise their family, go to work and live a lifestyle that is fantastic? Some of you should try it.

But anyway, how does this budget offset this government’s ban on residential gas? How the hell are we going to cook, keep our homes warm and keep our hot water? Because I tell you what, there is a little story: my gas hot water system broke a week ago after 23 years. It is the first gas hot water system I have had to replace, and do you know what I replaced it with?

A member: A heat pump.

Bill TILLEY: Another gas hot water system. It was great because I love my gas. The coalition love their gas.

A member: You would have got a rebate.

Bill TILLEY: I know, I have had a lot of phone calls from those people. I love playing with them. But the point I make is that this government is misstepping this. There need to be baby steps to renewables. None of us disagree about the pathway to decreasing our carbon footprint. Then again, I like increasing my carbon footprint when I have my V8 and I have my diesel, but I do have an electric car – a golf cart. Oh, here we go. Here is the other one that made it.

Darren Cheeseman: On a point of order, Acting Speaker, my hearing seems to be slurring the honourable member’s words. I think he could slow down a little bit so that we can follow what he is contributing to this debate.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Paul Edbrooke): I take it there is no point of order, but I will say to the member to stick to the motion.

Bill TILLEY: Thank you, Acting Speaker. Now, listen up. The only certainty from this budget in my part of the world was Labor ending the native timber industry in a secret cabinet meeting just the day before the budget. That will cost 25 jobs in a little town, remote, called Corryong. It might not sound like a lot of people, but 25 jobs in the Corryong township is devastating. When the government members and the Greens – if the Greens ever turn up – go home tonight they should have a good look at their furniture. Have a damn good look at the furniture in your own home and whether it is cheap overseas knock-offs or whether it is quality, made from Victorian hardwood. Have a good look at your furniture. If it is the latter, Victorian hardwood furniture, you lot should pass legislation to have it seized or forfeited. With this decision to shut down the native timber industry you have surrendered the right to possess it yourselves. You have surrendered the right to possess it yourselves because you have shut down this industry, a great Victorian manufacturing industry. You have closed it down. Anything less is hypocritical.

Our punters in the Benambra district look at the budget through a lens of local knowledge, things they know to be true – like that ambos need a peak period shift in Wodonga to save people’s lives, stop the ambulance drain from the regions and cut some of the state’s worst waiting times for lifesaving ambulances in the shires like Towong and Indigo. I ask the member for Melton – I have had some good conversations with him over the last couple of months about some other matters – to please stop looking at the data and please support us in the resources. Get Danny Hill to back us up as well. They know our nurses – their relatives, their mums and dads – are backing up from shift to shift to cover the shortfall in numbers. The people of the Benambra district know that their mothers, their aunties and their grandfathers have been waiting for years for elective surgery.

They know you cannot find a teacher. Your teachers union says there are 1000 vacancies across the state. Acting Chair Edbrooke, you have often said that you are an ex-teacher yourself. You know what it is like. You have been in the profession. Schools are almost shanghaiing people off the street to fill their teacher vacancies. This is in country and rural Victoria. That is how bad it is getting. The people in my patch laugh at the free TAFE. They know the automotive reconditioning apprentice who has not seen a formal class in 12 months. For God’s sake, this kid is terrific. He is an apprentice, and he has not had a formal class. He has had to extend his apprenticeship because of free TAFE. Oh, there he is.

Dylan Wight: There he is.

Bill TILLEY: Nice vest.

Dylan Wight interjected.

Bill TILLEY: No, come up. Do not run away. Come back in.

They know the would-be patisserie cook who cannot get into a course or the security guard looking for training. My locals hear the talk of the new trains and know that it is a myth for commuters, who are being forced to stand or sit on the floor of a carriage for an hour trip to Melbourne. The point I make is the minister has recently made a trial that is going to try and work. It should not be a trial, it should be permanent. You should be able to know that when you book a train ticket, you are going to get the train. You should not have to stand on a train on a long-haul passenger service from regional Victoria. Anyway, I will continue those constructive and mature conversations with the Minister for Public Transport. He has responded particularly well at this stage, and I commend him and will continue to work on that – but he is not there yet, all right? He is not quite there yet.

Our punters also see road crews, and they see them overwhelmed. They live in the community. We have a beer with them in the pub. We know what pressure they are under.

Members interjecting.

Bill TILLEY: Oh, absolutely. No, beer is the nectar of life, and somebody should learn that and know that the people at the front line delivering those services know how badly this government is deceiving people. They are dads at the dinner table. They will have the money to do the repairs. They cannot do the maintenance. Roads are failing, and the 40-kilometre-an-hour signs, traffic lights and detours are the default position. Take a weekend drive and come up and see us. You can see the potholes. You can see the lights. You can see the damage to not only the sides of the road but the drainage. It is an absolute disgrace.

Metro versus country – I mean, we talk about votes and data and everything. We will come to an election in a few years time. I have only 2 minutes – I have got plenty more to say. But anyway, the point I make is we should stop dividing country and regional Victoria with metro, and we know that, and there should not be competition on population. But I digress.

Fishing clubs – have a look at the great outdoors that we share along the Murray River and the fishing clubs that want infrastructure. The minister is in the other place. We are seeking that our boat ramps be repaired. We have got people that have been living there for two years but the authorities will not do anything about changing that. These are grassroots Victorians that just want to go and live a lifestyle, but this budget and this government’s administration fail us miserably.

Going on to footy: local footy and netball clubs want to know how they can fund change rooms that allow both men and women and that have hot water and canteens that do not look like whitegoods throwaway bays at the tip. There is a hole in the funding model that needs fixing, absolutely.

Right across Victoria we are coming into finals season. These clubs are the lifeblood of our community. On Sunday I was at the knockout round of the Tallangatta league. It was huge day – big crowds came from everywhere. It is not the Ovens and Murray; I am talking about the Tallangatta league. It was a great game. The seniors match between Chiltern and Barnawartha was great; those young men played hard. The girls were playing their netball; it was a terrific match. I look forward to the Bloods – Chiltern – and Beechworth playing next weekend down at Sandy Creek. That club is desperate for help. Chiltern is desperate for help for country football and netball. Anyway, I have run out of time. I have a lot more to say, but thank you for the opportunity.

Chris COUZENS (Geelong) (18:16): I do not know how I am going to follow that. I am very pleased to talk about the budget that is being delivered for my community of Geelong, and I know my community are very excited about it. One of the reasons they are excited is we have delivered on every budget commitment and every election commitment from the time we were elected in 2014. My community are very excited about the commitments that we have made and know that we will deliver on those. It was great to have the Minister for Education not long ago in this chamber talking about education and what we have done over the years and what we are doing in this particular budget and what was done by the previous Minister for Education.

In Geelong we have delivered on every primary school and every secondary school in terms of major commitments bar one, East Geelong Primary School, which we in this budget committed $3.39 million to upgrade. That community are very, very excited. They have waited quite some time for this redevelopment. It will provide new classrooms and facilities for those students, and it will make a real difference to that school, that major upgrade.

We also have a $36 million commitment to the Gordon TAFE to provide a disability services hub. Geelong has the NDIS, the TAC, WorkSafe Victoria. Why wouldn’t we have a full training facility based at our amazing TAFE, the Gordon TAFE, in Geelong? Again, my community is really excited that that new facility will be built on the city campus and provide the much-needed training that disability support workers need. It will also focus on providing the best possible facilities for students with disabilities. The planning is underway, and there is a lot to be excited about on that particular one.

My community was also very excited about the women’s health focus and the funding of $58 million to create 20 comprehensive women’s health clinics across the state – Geelong got one of those. I recall the Premier’s announcement about that. The medical professionals who are working in women’s health at Barwon Health were in tears at the announcement. They could not believe that we are going to get a fully functioning women’s health clinic which will later go into the amazing new women’s and children’s hospital to be built in Geelong in the coming years.

The other really exciting one for me in particular was the funding to Strong Brother Strong Sister, who are a First Nations organisation in Geelong who provide support to young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids and provide an amazing service to those kids. Some years ago – about four years ago – a couple of the young First Nations people took their own lives, and there was a concerted campaign from within the Geelong community, including Strong Brother Strong Sister and the traditional owner group, the Wadawurrung community and the Wathaurong community, to have something put in place to support those young people and look at a suicide prevention program. So Strong Brother Strong Sister came to the fore and came up with a model, which we have since funded. Again in this budget we funded them to continue that really valuable work. It is so important to First Nations communities in my electorate, and I am sure in other electorates, that they have that suicide prevention program operating which is led by community. It is led by the community; they know what their young people need and the support they need. And it has been highly successful, with fantastic results coming from it, so I am really pleased that we have continued to provide that funding.

In Bannockburn, which is a new part of my electorate since the last election, we have been doing an enormous amount of work. The sporting infrastructure, the youth hub and the facilities there for young people have been amazing. In this budget we have funded $400,000 to upgrade the Scout hall. Scouts are big out in Bannockburn; they love going to the Scouts. I had a meeting with them, and the young people were really excited about the fact that we were going to upgrade their hall so they could continue to do what Scouts do.

Then there is the SES, which was another really exciting one. The SES in Bannockburn really needed new facilities. They were co-located with the CFA in overcrowded conditions. They had been advocating for some years to have their own facility located a bit further away, so I was really pleased that we committed the $7.16 million for them to be able to do that. And the SES, as we all know, provides an amazing service to our community when we need it. Bannockburn SES are no different, and they wanted to make sure they had all the facilities so that they could go out and support their community and in fact other communities, because they were out in other areas during the last round of major floods, helping around Rochester and those communities out there. They are very excited about having that new modern and safe facility that they have been asking for for some time.

We have a lot of different community organisations around Geelong that have benefited from our budget commitments. One of those is Volunteering Geelong, who have provided an amazing service to our community, supporting people to do training and to volunteer in the many, many services that we have across Geelong. They provide a great service, and we have provided them with $100,000 as an investment into looking at their training and what else they can do across the community. I know during the periods of COVID lockdown people were coming to me saying we want to volunteer. I did not necessarily know those people, so I was not going to say go and help the elderly people down the road without knowing who they were. So Volunteering Geelong took that role because they screen people; they do all the checks that are necessary. They did an amazing job during COVID, and they deserve every support that we can give them, so I was really pleased that they were able to get that funding. There is the Bluebird Foundation, who provide real community engagement projects across Geelong, engaging people from all ages, particularly younger people. Whether it be art or craft or music, all those sorts of things, this organisation has done some amazing work across the Geelong community, so I was really pleased that they were able to get $100,000 to continue their work over the next 12 months, and they were very excited about that.

The Belmont Lions at Winter Reserve – the Belmont football and netball club – are a great club who in fact have a very strong Indigenous connection. Many of their players are from the Aboriginal community. There is a very strong focus on that. In fact they were doing events like NAIDOC and Indigenous rounds before anybody else was. They are a very significant club in our community. I was really pleased that we were able to commit $1 million for them to provide new netball facilities – change rooms and a new netball court, something that they do not currently have. The City of Greater Geelong has made significant budget cuts. There is some negotiation going on now. I think the change rooms are the priority. But certainly they have really welcomed that commitment to $1 million. I will be making sure that we do provide as much assistance and support as we can to get that over the line.

The other really important one is Pako Festa. We have a really vibrant multicultural community who every year come together and celebrate multiculturalism in Geelong. We very strongly believe we need to fight to keep that – to not allow racism, hate speech or those sorts of things to come into our community. There is a very strong multicultural community in Geelong that holds that festival every year. It gets over 100,000 people all along Pakington Street. Every year it is not something you want to miss. I do not think I have ever missed one. It has been going for about 25 years. It is really exciting. The whole community looks forward to it, and everybody comes in for that day along Pakington Street. Multicultural communities showcase their culture. They do their dancing, their foods – all sorts of things. Everyone, from little children to elderly people, gets to enjoy that day. I am really pleased that we have committed $200,000 a year over four years – so $800,000 – to Cultura, who run the event, for our multicultural communities to continue the amazing Pako Festa.

I would also like to comment on the supporting treaty and self-determination commitments that we have made as a government. This is really significant. There were significant budget commitments in the last budget, including $35 million to support 25 self-determining Aboriginal community controlled health organisations to strengthen their workforce capacity and deliver more episodes of care to Aboriginal Victorians and of course, importantly, to meet Victoria’s commitment under the Closing the Gap national agreement.

There is $17 million to improve justice outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. We know how important that is. There is $14 million to attract new and returning First Peoples into teaching degrees and government school teaching roles. That is really significant. I know that in my community we have been pushing really hard for that – to have more First Peoples doing their teaching degree and moving into our local schools.

There is also $10 million to continue Aboriginal community infrastructure programs to help advance employment and social and economic development opportunities for Aboriginal Victorians; $6.4 million to continue to support traditional owner corporations negotiating a recognition and settlement agreement package to ensure traditional owner groups are able to negotiate on an equal footing; $3.9 million to continue the First Nations Legal & Research Services; $3.9 million for an Aboriginal-led early parenting centre, which is fantastic; $2.6 million to strengthen the Aboriginal heritage officer program and the Budj Bim cultural landscape world heritage rangers program. If you have not been to Budj Bim, I encourage you to go and check it out. It is absolutely amazing. And there is $1.4 million to deliver Aboriginal cultural events and awards celebrating and remembering Victorian Aboriginal culture and history.

There is so much in this budget, and I am going to run of time. We have been delivering, as I said, in Geelong. My community are really excited about what we have delivered and what we are about to deliver over the next 12 months or so. We have certainly covered off on key areas, whether it be education, sport or general community organisations. That is really important to my community.

Tim READ (Brunswick) (18:30): I want to focus particularly in this budget take-note address on dental care and on education. One of the important points about dental care is that it is not funded at all really by the federal government. There is dental care available for healthcare card holders which is state funded and obviously targeted towards low-income Victorians and more vulnerable families. It is important to remember that when people have to wait too long for dental care, everybody pays in the end. The complications of bad teeth affect the health budget and the health system as well as the individuals. Dental infections often take people to hospital emergency departments with pain and other complications. Poor dental health is also a risk factor for heart disease – quite a significant risk factor. In fact in the 2020–21 financial year there were 17,000 hospitalisations in Victoria for preventable dental conditions, and having bad teeth affects all sorts of social outcomes, including employment. So it is in everybody’s interest that we look after the teeth of all Victorians, not just those who can afford to go to the dentist.

Unfortunately there was no additional funding for public dental care in the state budget, so over the next 12 months we will not see an increase in dental healthcare service funding for adults, but this is desperately needed. The government’s current public dental outputs cater for about one-fifth of the eligible population, and that leads to enormous blowouts in waiting times. But the government has still failed to bring funding in line with population growth and demand.

At the budget estimates hearings this year the Minister for Health made assurances that the statewide public dental wait times had reduced to just under 15 months on average. That improvement, however, was largely attributable to a one-off voucher scheme designed to deal with COVID waiting list blowouts. But freedom of information data has shown that that 15-month average wait conceals marked variations between postcodes. For example, the average wait time in June this year in Richmond was 45 months; in Warrnambool, 38 months; and in Brunswick, 29 months. And these are for healthcare card holders who are eligible for public dental care but are not effectively getting it because of these extraordinarily long waits. Obviously public dental care does not really lend itself to ribbon-cutting announcements. It is not quite as marketable as something like the Smile Squad, an excellent initiative targeted at children. But a government that truly cares about the worst off in Victoria would be doing more to look after their teeth.

I want to turn now to some funding issues in my electorate of Brunswick, which now includes Carlton North and Fitzroy North. It was really good in this budget to see the CERES environment park funded to the tune of $1 million over two years for their community enterprise precinct plan, and I was very pleased to see funding finally start flowing to Carlton North Primary School after years of work by the member for Melbourne to highlight the multiple needs there. However, there was nothing else in the budget for schools in the Brunswick electorate. For example, Brunswick Secondary College have been looking to renovate a wellbeing hub to accommodate mental health professionals to support many of their students. They have needed $1 million for that for some time, and that need has grown since we first raised it with the government. Analysis by the opposition, incidentally, revealed $241 million in new projects in government-held seats versus $14 million in seats held by the coalition. I do not know if the Greens were part of that analysis, but it would be a shame if children across Victoria were having their education funding affected by the voting of their parents.

There is a particular issue that is unique to the inner city, to the suburbs that are a hundred years old or more, and that is that the schools face very high bills for basic maintenance. Buildings that are well over a hundred years old often are taller buildings requiring scaffolding for repair work. They have steeply sloping slate roofs, often with leaks in them, and second-floor windows with rotting frames, which can cost a lot of money to replace or to paint even. The annual maintenance budget for these schools is only really enough to paint a few classrooms, and any structural work requires extra funding, which generally only appears after schools have become dangerous. It is clear that schools with century-old buildings need a higher maintenance budget.

Some other issues in Brunswick schools include playgrounds flooding due to inadequate drainage and needing remediation work on playground surfaces, windows and roofs deteriorating, walls cracking, planned works not being finished due to cost blowouts and parents actually chipping in money for school maintenance, and overcrowding due to bad conditions, particularly at Brunswick Secondary College, although that recently looks to be improving, which is great. Then there are staffing issues, particularly exacerbated by the teacher shortage: overwork – teachers often doing additional hours unpaid because of their passion and commitment and faced with a high administrative burden.

The chronic underfunding in public schools is something obviously that has been going on for a long time. Funding agreements are to be renegotiated next year, and that is an opportunity for Victoria to fully fund public schools to 100 per cent of the schooling resource standard, something that Victoria is falling behind on. Again, funding for visiting teachers, in this case specialist disability teachers, has recently been cut, and while we were told that education cuts would not be on the front line, I think that these teachers certainly are there.

I want to briefly raise a couple of other issues. We know that as part of the transition away from fossil fuels, which gets more urgent every day, we need to electrify all our homes, and with 2 million of Victoria’s homes connected to gas, that is going to be a huge multidecade task. Currently Victoria has a very narrow range of subsidies for low-income households to electrify. It makes sense to start with low-income households, absolutely, but we need to do more to encourage owners of rental properties – landlords – to electrify to cut the power bills of their tenants. It is difficult policy work because we do not necessarily want to throw money at investment properties; however, the people who are going to save money as a result will be their low-income tenants. So it is worth looking at ways, using low-interest loans and subsidies, to speed up the electrification and insulation of Victoria’s rental housing stock. The budget unfortunately contained no significant funding for a wholesale program to insulate and electrify Victorian homes over the next decade, which is something we really need to get moving on.

I will just conclude with a couple of remarks about health department cuts. We have noticed obviously, and it has been well reported, that the public health units were severely cut in this budget. It is worth going back a couple of years and remembering how unprepared we were for the recent pandemic, and cutting public health again entails a risk that we will be underprepared for the next. However, we do not have to wait for the next pandemic for public health units to be useful. There is a lot of important work, both in infection control and in chronic disease control, for public health units.

I will just pick one example. Congenital syphilis – that is, babies born with syphilis – is something that did not exist in Victoria for many years, but it has reappeared within the last decade: just one baby one year and one the next, and then two and recently three. Babies being born with syphilis is an unusual thing, and it is a sign of a health system breaking down. It is a sign of a Third World health system. I am not saying our health system is Third World, but it is a sign of people falling through the cracks. Syphilis is very easy to diagnose and treat in pregnancy. Babies should not be born with syphilis at all in Victoria – not at all. There was an outbreak in the 1980s in New York due to a crack cocaine epidemic, there is congenital syphilis in war-torn countries like Yemen, but it should not be happening here. There is some work for our public health units.

In the 1990s the incidence of syphilis in Victoria fell to almost zero – this is syphilis in adults. I think two cases was the low point in 1999, and it fell because people were scared of catching HIV; there was not good treatment for HIV. Then it doubled every year through the 2000s, and for the last decade or so it has been over 1000 cases a year. Initially mostly it was in gay men, but it has spread into heterosexual populations. Most people who are pregnant go to the doctor and have a syphilis test, and in the unlikely event that it is positive it is one of the few infections that can still be cured with penicillin. It is that easy to fix. But you have got to fix it before 20 weeks gestation, because if not, congenital syphilis has a death rate, if it is untreated, approaching 50 per cent, combining stillbirth and perinatal death, and a disability rate of around 25 per cent. So it is worth just raising it now and again. We have raised it before in this place but it is something that cannot be ignored, and it is worth investing some money in syphilis control in this state. We had two cases a year not that long ago, and we ought to be able to get it back down there. I will conclude there.

Paul MERCURIO (Hastings) (18:42): I rise to speak to this motion that takes note of the 2023–24 budget and discuss what it will mean for not only my electorate of Hastings but the broader community across our great state. I am happy to talk about the good things, because there are plenty of good things, but firstly I would like to just say thank you to all of the dedicated and hardworking staff at Treasury for assisting with putting this budget together and thank them for all the work they will do in the future. I also want to thank my colleagues in Parliament for the hard work they put into this budget. It certainly is not an enviable task.

A member: Thank you.

Paul MERCURIO: You are welcome, but I am glad it is you putting the effort in and not me. I am terrible with money.

Last year this government took an optimistic and positive plan to the good people of this state, unlike some opposite who chose to use hate, division and negativity to spruik whatever they were trying to sell. Victorians chose love, unity and a positive plan that includes better hospitals, more schools and more support to combat the cost of living. This budget will be delivering on every single commitment made at the last election. Not only will we be doing that, we will also be repaying the COVID debt in a measured and sensible way.

‘Doing what matters’ – we have all heard it countless times, but it will never get old, because that is exactly what this government does. This government listens to the community, hears the community and does what matters to them. Now, here are just a few things that really do matter: $1 billion to bring back the State Electricity Commission to re-establish government-owned energy and invest in renewable energy – and the profits will go back to Victorians; $400 million to deliver the fourth round of the $250 power saving bonus to help with your energy bills and provide an opportunity to change your provider and save money, because of course providers will not just tell you how to save money; $320 million to help deliver major investment at seven hospitals across Victoria to make sure that everyone receives high-quality health care; $235 million to support students with disability and their families, because no one should be left behind or left out – I am extremely proud to be part of a government that supports inclusion for all; and $186 million to expand the eligibility for VET subsidies, allowing more Victorians to get the training they need for the jobs in high-demand industries. Our state is growing and we will need the infrastructure and skilled jobs to accommodate that, and now it is just a little bit easier to transition. There is $91 million to work towards providing 50 local mental health hubs and continue to deliver on the community-based services.

I am very happy to say nine locals have already opened and I believe another 12 are expected to open in the coming months. This is something that is extremely close to my heart. I am very pleased to be part of the Andrews government that has made a record investment into mental health and is committed to implementing all the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. That drives me to be here. There is $46 million to train the next generation of paramedics and introduce our first specialist paramedic practitioners, who will assist our paramedics and allow them to respond to more call-outs. That is just a portion of some of the wonderful work on the way.

We will also be continuing and expanding on key programs. We have continued our ongoing investment in our kids’ future by providing kinder services for three- and four-year-olds for free. We know that young families are doing it tough at the moment, and with this awesome initiative they will save on average $2500 per child per year. We are making sure that there are no barriers to early childhood education and providing a level playing field for every Victorian family. That is doing what matters. Just touching on that note, I am sure we can all agree that one of the most important things – if not the most important thing – we do in this place is try to make the future better for kids, and not just better for some kids but better for every kid. This is all being done by the Andrews Labor government’s record investment into childhood and pre-prep with the Best Start, Best Life reform. I have mentioned it already, but when something is so good, you just want to talk about it more than once. We have made kinder free for three- and four-year-old kids in participating services right across the state. Then kids can transition from four-year-old kinder to pre-prep, which is a universal 30-hour-a-week program of play-based learning, which will set them up for every possible success before heading into the primary school system.

Not only are we providing more kindergarten options, we are also moving forward to address the dire need that there is currently in child care. We will be establishing 50 government-owned and affordable childcare centres. I hear stories all the time of people in my community that cannot get their kids into the local kindergarten and cannot get them into those in neighbouring communities, so we have made the decision not to wait for other levels of government to forge ahead and to start the work ourselves, because the community deserve it and they should not have to wait any longer.

I could talk more about what this government is achieving and will continue to achieve, but I do not want those on the other side to feel too inadequate – that would not be fair. On the campaign trail I often heard from opponents that ‘Labor doesn’t care about the peninsula or the electorate of Hastings’, ‘Labor doesn’t do anything in the electorate of Hastings’ and so on. However, that is simply not true. Even with the little, if any, advocacy we had from the previous member, this Labor government has invested and will continue to invest in the electorate of Hastings, and I am using that wonderful seat at the table to help drive that further.

I will run through some of the projects and things that have been done in the formerly Liberal-held seat, so I should not expect too much resistance from the other side in relationship to money only going to Labor seats. I will start with roads. The Andrews Labor government invested to improve the once extremely congested roundabout on Western Port Highway intersecting with Cranbourne-Frankston Road. Before the upgrade, during peak hours it was a mad dash, risking life and limb, to enter the roundabout and to find your way out safely. That is why we have upgraded it to an intersection with lights – to improve congestion, have a much better flow of traffic and importantly reduce accidents. We have also continued more work along Western Port Highway to upgrade key intersections for the growing communities in that area. Additionally, the roundabout at the intersection of Warrandyte and Baxter-Tooradin roads has been completely revamped, with the resurfacing of Golf Links Road also – all part of the Andrews Labor government’s suburban roads upgrade. I am very happy – and I spoke about it earlier today – that we secured funding for pedestrian safety upgrades at the Somerville roundabout. This funding was in the previous budget, and I am happy to say that works have now commenced. Only recently, unfortunately a young girl was crossing at the crosswalk and was hit by a car. She was obviously quite shaken. I am very happy to say she is well, and I am so happy to see these improvements start. I will continue to advocate for further traffic upgrades to that roundabout.

Before I continue I just want to mention two quotes my staff found in Hansard that are attributable to the former Liberal member for Hastings. On 6 June 2019, under the title of ‘Frankston Hospital funding’, Mr Burgess said – and I am sort of paraphrasing, yes – the Premier and the Treasurer had misled and short-changed the people of Frankston and surrounding areas by asking for their votes by promising more than half a billion dollars to build an 11-storey Frankston Hospital upgrade, including a full storey for people suffering from mental illness. In the other quote, under the title ‘Somers Primary School’, on 24 February 2022 – and I say again that I am paraphrasing – he said: Premier, when you were first elected you promised Victoria you would govern for all Victorians. My community is a part of Victoria, and ever since you were elected and made that promise you have systematically ignored my community.

Now, Deputy Speaker, you are probably wondering why I told you that, and I am going to tell you why. I mentioned before the record investment this government has achieved for early childhood services and education. That record investment has been felt over Victoria and indeed in the electorate of Hastings. Since 2017 this government has provided through various funding streams over $19 million for early childhood. This funding has included free kinder, COVID-19 support packages, infrastructure improvements, technology equipment and more, because we know how important it is to provide for every child in every single part of Victoria, no matter who your MP is.

Not only has this government supported the electorate of Hastings with early childhood funding but it has also continued funding to our health services. We have provided over $9 million to Peninsula Health for different services, which include critical plant items and essential infrastructure for acute services. Peninsula Health have services across the City of Frankston and the Mornington shire and have given fantastic and loving care to all of their patients.

I also know that many of my constituents visit the fantastic Frankston Hospital, which has received continued and much-needed funding for health services, and – this is the good bit – that includes a $1.1 billion redevelopment of Frankston Hospital, which will deliver a new 12-storey clinical service tower, a main entrance, 130 beds, new spaces for mental health and oncology services and 15 new operating theatres. I was recently onsite with the Premier, the Minister for Health, the member for Frankston and the Minister for Planning to oversee the continued expansion of this redevelopment. It really is quite spectacular, and it is happening.

I have also had the great pleasure to visit schools in my electorate. As a matter of fact I have visited all of my schools – and in fact a couple several more times. I am committed to improving services for them and building on the work that has been done and continues to be done by this government. Now, here is the good part –

Jordan Crugnale: Oh, there’s more.

Paul MERCURIO: Yes, there’s more. Over $25.6 million in funding and grants has been shared amongst schools across the electorate of Hastings – over $25 million – while the Liberal member sat in his office saying he could not get any money for them. Earlier in the year I visited Western Port Secondary, who are building new spaces for their junior and senior schools, thanks to a $10 million grant from the Andrews Labor government, and the works should be finished, hopefully, at the end of this year. In total over $40 million has been invested in our kids’ futures through early childhood to primary and then to secondary school in the electorate of Hastings.

Additionally, over $740,000 was provided to the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council for the Somerville recreation hub to deliver 300-square metres of skating and outdoor recreation space, which also includes a half-court basketball ring, parkour circuit and some trampolines. I was proudly involved in the skate park project when I was a councillor, and I am happy to say that, having a seat at the table as a councillor, I was able to get lighting put on that park so they could actually skate at night, which makes a lot of sense and is also a good use of our money.

Just because my electorate has not had a seat at the table for 12 years has not meant that we have missed out from the great things this Andrews Labor government has done. Now that we have a seat at the table and a voice to be heard, it can only mean better and greater outcomes for the good people of the electorate of Hastings. That is what they deserve, that is what they have been needing for a long time and that is what they are telling me they want.

That brings me to the 2023–24 budget. I will run through this very quickly. Actually, because I was a brand new person running, unfortunately I was not expected to win. The Treasurer told me this at lunch. I ran at the election with $200,000 worth of promises. My Liberal opponent, who was expected to win, ran with a grand total of $800 million worth of promises. It did not really work out. I am very grateful to the Premier and the Treasurer for recognising this electorate and topping up my electorate’s money. This is my first budget. I am looking forward to many more budgets. There will be many more. I will continue to advocate for my community. I know that the Andrews Labor government will continue to advocate also, and we are grateful.

Jade BENHAM (Mildura) (18:55): I wish it was my pleasure to speak to the take-note motion on the 2023–24 budget papers, but alas, this one hits hard, especially for those in rural and regional Victoria. It is hard. I have only got a few minutes, so let us talk about the most important thing that comes across my desk every single day, and that is health care, in particular the Mildura Base Public Hospital. Yes, it is now public. And now what? We do not have a master plan. This budget hits hard for anyone who gets sick or injured in the Sunraysia region. The Mildura Base Public Hospital, although back in public hands, has been completely ignored by the Andrews Labor government since being returned.

If you get injured, however, on Saturdays there is the private sector. One of our brilliant GPs Dr Travis Taggert has taken the initiative to run injury clinics so that when people get injured on a Saturday – which inevitably happens with football, netball, hockey, whatever it is – he is there through private funding, supported by the league, supported by Ryan Legal, to make sure that people that do get injured can actually be seen that day and then referred to the proper care on Monday, so they do not have to wait for up to 30 hours in the emergency department (ED). It hits hard.

The Mildura Base Public Hospital has been ignored by the Andrews Labor government through the election campaign, when we committed $750 million to a new hospital. It was ignored in this budget, and now the public are being blatantly ignored with the lack of a master plan available to the public. Instead it has been deemed an internal working document, despite me asking for it several times in this place and previously my predecessor also asking for the master plan. But no, ‘It’s a public hospital – we’ll keep those documents and the plan private. We’ll keep it to ourselves.’ What indeed are they hiding? It is a public hospital now – which they bang on about all the time – so what exactly are they hiding? It should be public for everyone to see exactly where we are going, exactly what the plan is. They have been screaming out for years for 30 additional ED beds, drastically needed, particularly when you are waiting for 30 hours in the ED to be seen and sometimes having to be treated in a hallway or in the waiting room or wherever we can find space. Our region is bursting at the seams. We have already outgrown the hospital and desperately, desperately, need a new one.

We were very optimistic that the master plan would pave the way and would show us what the plan is. The previous health minister promised that there would be a master plan due in this year. That was over 12 months ago, and yet the Mildura community and the wider Sunraysia region are still waiting. No such luck. I have in fact even asked. I invited the Minister for Health to Mildura to present this master plan to the public in a public hospital so that we could all see it – and she did come to Mildura. She came last week to announce $14 million for medical records upgrading – $14 million. Now, coming from a digital background, medical records are important, obviously, but who is having a lend of who? We are out of patience.

Business interrupted under sessional orders.