Wednesday, 18 February 2026

 Sarah CONNOLLY (Laverton) (09:49): In November we opened the Metro Tunnel for Melbourne’s west. In December we opened the West Gate Tunnel for Melbourne’s west. And today, Westies, guess what, we have just opened Footscray Hospital.

Members interjecting.

Sarah CONNOLLY: That deserves a ‘Yay’ I think. I have spoken so many times in this place about this project and how it will improve health care in Melbourne’s west, and the benefits cannot be overstated: an additional 200 beds, 15,000 more patients and 20,000 more people able to be seen by the emergency department. That is huge. That is more patients being able to be treated, reduced wait times and better patient outcomes – delivered by this new hospital. And, for the first time, this new hospital will offer Victoria’s first ever publicly funded pathology services, meaning faster diagnostics for all of Western Health’s hospitals. This is the biggest health infrastructure investment in Victorian history. Labor promised it, and now Labor has delivered it. And for folks in the west there is still more good news to come. We have still got Werribee Mercy to complete its emergency department upgrade later this year, and works continue on the new hospital in Melton. Right across Victoria we are getting on with improving and strengthening our healthcare system, and this is absolutely true when it comes to Melbourne’s west, because under Labor we do not cut and we do not close hospitals; we build and we invest in them.