Warrandyte electorate
Nicole WERNER (Warrandyte) (14:46): (1196) My constituency question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, why has the government cut millions of dollars from the maternal child health sleep and settling program, including in my electorate of Warrandyte? I am a new mum, and I have got my baby Bobby here with me today. I will be the first to say that he was not the greatest sleeper when he was first born and for the first few months, and I have personally accessed these services in my local electorate. I know how much of a lifeline they are, and as any new parent knows, sleep deprivation is one of the most brutal parts of parenting. It is the number one issue that gets talked about in any mothers group chat. The mental health impact of your baby’s sleep is so real. That is why it is shameful that the government is so broke that it has had to cut funding for the sleep and settling program when it is, to quote one of my local councils, a crucial support for families when they are at their most vulnerable. This speaks to the issues in this government and how wrong their priorities are. Shame on them for shutting down this program, and shame on them for abandoning new parents and their babies.