Thursday, 20 February 2025

 Emma KEALY (Lowan) (09:43): I rise to condemn the Allan Labor government and the Minister for Health for their appalling handling of the Grampians Health megamerger. We were promised there would be more jobs locally, more health services locally and upgrades to our health services. Instead on Valentine’s Day the laundry staff were told of the heartless decision that they would be sacked, and the reason was that the Allan Labor government will not fund upgrades to their linen service. Now we have got a situation where up to 20 jobs will be relocated to Ballarat, out of my electorate of Lowan, because Labor cannot manage Victoria’s healthcare system. It is Victorians and local people who are paying the price. There are so many opportunities that would be available to keep those jobs in the local area. You could look at funding the upgrade of the linen service – you have had 10 years to do it, and you have done nothing. You could investigate using laundries at other health services in the region.

The SPEAKER: Member for Lowan, through the Chair!

Emma KEALY: We could also look at investigating the use of local commercial laundries so we could keep those jobs and that income local. Instead Labor want to shut down local jobs. They never stand up for workers, and this is just another example of that.