Tuesday, 14 May 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Payroll tax

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has said that Labor’s 2024 budget will ‘worsen the cost-of-living crisis for Victorians’. Will the government remove the health tax to ease the cost of living for Victorians?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): In answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question, can I make it absolutely clear to the house and to the Leader of the Opposition that he is referring to a tax that does not exist. There is no health tax.

Members interjecting.

Jacinta ALLAN: You are going to send that out, are you – that you make stuff up? Send it out everywhere. The Leader of the Opposition makes things up. That is what he is proud to send out everywhere, as he is just muttering across the chamber.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! This is not a good start to question time. The Premier will be heard without assistance.

Jacinta ALLAN: In answering the Leader of the Opposition’s question, I am not going to answer the part that is a fabrication. I am just not going to answer the part of the question that is a fabrication. What I will say about supporting GPs is that this government has had to step in after 9½ years of failure from the former federal Liberal government. We had to step in and establish 29 priority primary care centres. Why did we have to do that?

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! Members will be removed from the chamber without warning.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, I ask that you draw the Premier back to the question, which was about the health tax and whether they will remove it.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: The question went to supporting general practice. This government has been a big and strong supporter of general practice, because the Medicare system has been brought to its knees in this country by the former federal Liberal government. We did not hear those opposite raise their voices at any stage; not at any stage did they raise their voices. There was not even a whimper of a protest.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Tarneit can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Tarneit withdrew from chamber.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is now debating the question.

The SPEAKER: I ask the Premier to come back to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: That is why, in addition to rolling out 29 priority primary care centres, we have also recognised –

John Pesutto interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: I am getting to EDs; just hold your horses. He gets a little excited when he comes into question time. We not only have established 29 priority primary care centres; we have also recognised, because of the failure of the former federal Liberal government, that that was placing significant pressure on our emergency departments. And what has this government done to support our hardworking emergency department staff? We have introduced the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department. It is the busiest emergency department in the state. The member for Yan Yean can speak very well about its importance, the difference it has made and the great service it provides to families right across the state. We will continue to step in and provide support to our hardworking GPs and continue to work with the Labor federal government, which is boosting support in this area.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): The college said that:

The Government knows –

medical –

practices can’t afford the state’s extra payroll tax, and neither can their patients.

Why are vulnerable and sick Victorians being punished because Labor cannot manage money?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:07): He seems to have changed the question. Which is it? I am just not sure the Leader of the Opposition is being consistent in his substantive and supplementary questions.

A member interjected.

Jacinta ALLAN: No, that is true. Why start now? If the Leader of the Opposition would like me to provide a list of how we are supporting vulnerable and sick Victorians, let me start sharing with the Leader of the Opposition what we are doing. In last week’s budget there is a record amount of funding to our hospital system. I have already spoken of the priority primary care centres, the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department, the record number of healthcare workers –

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Eildon can leave the chamber for an hour.

Member for Eildon withdrew from chamber.

Jacinta ALLAN: There are 13,500 healthcare workers that we have employed just since the pandemic. Those opposite during the pandemic were not interested in vulnerable and sick Victorians when they said let it rip. They were not interested in vulnerable and sick Victorians. We are, which is why we will continue to support our health system and our healthcare workers.