Tuesday, 20 May 2025

West Gippsland Hospital

Wayne FARNHAM (Narracan) (19:19): (1157) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is that the minister provide an update on the current status of the new West Gippsland Hospital in light of today’s state budget being released. It is unfortunate that I have to raise this again. Six months ago, on 12 November, I raised this adjournment issue for the Minister for Health – it was after my father died – to get a clear timeline on when the West Gippsland Hospital will start. To date, that question has not been answered, and I am sorry to say but that is really pathetic, to wait six months for an answer on a very important subject.

To put it into context, the West Gippsland Hospital was committed to by the Liberals in 2017 and again in 2022, then the Labor government came on board and they committed to this hospital in late October 2022. They said it was going to start in 2024. It still has not started. In today’s budget there was no uplift for that hospital – none at all, no uplift of funding. I am getting increasingly concerned when I see a line in the budget today that says ‘Reduce project scope $12.9 million’. When I was a builder, if a client came to me and said ‘Reduce project scope’, what do you think that meant? That means cuts. Is it to the West Gippsland Hospital or is it to the Wonthaggi Hospital in the member for Bass’s region? There are four hospitals lumped into this. Is it the Queen Elizabeth II or the Dandenong Hospital? I want to know now what the reduced project scope is. Is it less beds? Is it less emergency department area? Is it less birthing suites? The minister has to come clean for the people of Narracan. When will the West Gippsland Hospital start? After today’s budget, I cannot see it starting any sooner than the back end of 2026, and that is two years after the commitment was meant to start.

It is not good enough to sit here and tell me, ‘You do not know the difference between planning and building.’ I know the difference. I have got more building experience than anyone else in this chamber. And for my community to be treated like this by the Minister for Health is disgraceful. It is the fastest growing area in Australia, Warragul and Drouin. This hospital is probably the greatest need in Victoria, yet I cannot get one straight answer out of her. It is disgraceful. I am angry, my community is angry. We have had enough. We want to know a date when it will start.