Thursday, 15 August 2024

 Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (09:58): I want to congratulate the community on its strong action in forcing the Allan Labor government to announce a backdown on its plans to cut health services funding and force hospital mergers. This government demanded multimillion-dollar budget cuts from Victoria’s 76 health services and withdrew longstanding guarantees that ensured they would stay open. For months these demands have caused enormous concern within our community and uncertainty around the impact on healthcare accessibility, local jobs and patient outcomes.

We know that Labor will say one thing and do another. Their announcement last week contained little more than a bucket of money and vague statements about creating a new bureaucracy. Just yesterday we had the Treasurer saying nothing is on the table or off the table insofar as how this $1.5 billion will be spent – no detail on what happens once the money is spent and no certainty for health services to be able to plan budgets and allocate staffing with confidence. The Minister for Health continues to dodge questions and gives the community no assurances when she merely states there will be no forced mergers. People in the community have invested in placards around the region, which will be left in place to remind the government we will not accept hospital mergers by stealth.

Whether it is more than $180 billion in debt and climbing, cancelling the Commonwealth Games, $40 billion in waste and mismanagement on its Big Build projects in Melbourne or massive cuts to health that Labor claims have now been reversed, the community are rightly mistrustful of this Premier and any promises she makes.