Thursday, 2 May 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Health funding

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. When asked in March, the Minister for Health failed to rule out forced hospital amalgamations. Will the Premier rule out forced changes that cut local health services or jobs whether those changes are called hospital amalgamations, consolidations, mergers or any other name?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, because of course the only people who talk about cutting health services are those who actually did it.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, can you draw the Premier back to the question?

The SPEAKER: The Premier had only just commenced her answer.

Jacinta ALLAN: The question referred to cuts to hospital services, and I was just wanting to make it absolutely clear, in providing a response to the question from the Leader of the Opposition, that the only people who have cut health services and who have closed hospitals are those opposite. They are the only ones who closed hospitals, who cut country hospital services to places like Elmore, to places like Eildon, to places like Murtoa –

David Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question, and I ask you to bring her back to answering the question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier is giving some context, I believe, but I do ask her to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am wanting to make that clear because we do not cut and close. I hope that makes it clear for the Leader of the Opposition. We do not cut or close. What we do is focus on rebuilding and building up our health system. For example, we had to buy back the Latrobe Valley hospital from the failed privatisation of those opposite. I was so proud to join with the health minister recently when we had not just completed an upgrade to stage 1 of that hospital or stage 2; it was stage ‍3 of the redevelopment of the Latrobe Valley hospital. We are also investing heavily in the hospital in Mildura, now a public hospital thanks to our investment.

Peter Walsh: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the history lesson is useful, but can you bring the Premier back to actually answering the question of ruling out forced amalgamations?

The SPEAKER: The Premier was still being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: I understand why those opposite are a little sensitive when we call them out, particularly in National Party electorates, who bore the brunt of the cuts and closures under previous Liberal–National governments. We will continue to support country communities, and we will continue to support the hard work of the healthcare workers who provide top-quality public health care to communities right across the state.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Mildura is warned.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): AMA President Dr Jill Tomlinson, when asked about job cuts linked to forced amalgamation, said, ‘Cutting staff, no matter where you cut them from, does impact frontline services and clinical services.’ How many frontline services will suffer due to the government’s secret plan to force health services to amalgamate?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will be removed without warning. Member for Tarneit!

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:07): I was asked by the Leader of the Opposition about a potential government decision, a possible government decision, its impact on frontline services and how they may suffer. These are the same people who demanded we let COVID rip without any consideration of the impact that would have.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I understand the need for context, but the Premier is just being nasty and not answering the questions that are being asked.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: This is entirely relevant because the question was framed about supporting frontline services, and that is what we are absolutely focused on, whether it is when we came to government, following the cuts and closures of a former Liberal–National government and how we had to build back up those health services, whether it is coming to government after nurses had lost their jobs, whether it is coming to government and, particularly, working through a pandemic, where those opposite wanted to inflict more pain and more hardship on our healthcare system during a one-in-100-year pandemic. We will continue to support not just our hospitals but also those hardworking healthcare workers.