Tuesday, 13 May 2025

Ripon electorate health services

Martha HAYLETT (Ripon) (19:20): (1130) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services. The action I seek is that the minister joins me in my electorate to meet with healthcare workers and paramedics about our region’s healthcare needs. Our state Labor government has invested so much into health care across Ripon, including upgrading the Ararat hospital and ambulance station; bringing MICA paramedics to Ararat and the Grampians; opening a new women’s sexual and reproductive health hub in Ararat; upgrading the Ballarat Base Hospital; building new ambulance stations in Avoca and Inglewood and putting more ambos on shift; doing critical upgrades to the St Arnaud hospital, Inglewood hospital and Beaufort hospital; building student accommodation for future nurses and doctors in Maryborough; and building a new ambulance station in Wedderburn very soon as well. We have just completed the $115 million redevelopment of Maryborough hospital as well. So many people told me that this would never happen, that they would believe it when they saw it. Well, now it is done with world-class health care close to home for Maryborough families. The new hospital includes a 32-bed inpatient unit, two operating theatres, a new maternity unit, a day medical centre, an urgent care centre, dialysis imaging, pharmacy services and more.

Despite all these incredible investments, there is still more to do, including funding more capital upgrades at our rural hospitals, building new ambulance stations in our growing communities and making more ambulance stations 24-hour stations. I would welcome the minister to visit again soon and discuss these projects further so that we can continue to deliver incredible health care across Ripon.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Mildura, there were two actions in your statement. Just for clarification, the first was asking the minister to require an environment effects statement (EES), if I remember, but at the end of your statement you asked for consultation with the community. Is it the first one?

Jade Benham: The first one.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you. So to clarify, it was Cubico Sustainable Investments required to produce an EES?

Jade Benham: Required to prepare an environment effects statement and go through the proper process before a planning permit is granted.