Wednesday, 13 May 2026

 Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (17:04): (1660) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Health Infrastructure, and the action I seek is for the minister to update my community on the progress of construction works at the Monash Medical Centre in Clayton. This goes in a record of funding and delivering for our communities across the Kingston, Frankston and Greater Dandenong communities. Just this year we opened up the Frankston hospital, now Peninsula University Hospital, which has been a significant game changer for health care in our region. That $1.1 billion investment will add substantial capacity to our peninsula, our Frankston council, our Greater Dandenong and our Kingston communities.

Monash Medical Centre has a storied history in our community. I have had the opportunity to be there and have that care when my girls have had temperatures of over 40 degrees, to go through there and be supported by some of the most compassionate and wonderful Victorians that exist. There is such an expansion of the facilities there, with more theatre capacity, updated maternity services doubling their capacity and also intensive care unit services. It also backs in our investment in Dandenong Hospital. A lot of the bubbies that are born in the eastern part of my community go through Dandenong Hospital, and it is a really great testament that there will be expanded theatre capacity and more support for our healthcare workers, because you know what, Labor backs our healthcare workers – a 28.7 per cent increase in pay and conditions for our nurses, and nurse-to-patient ratios, opposed by those opposite and impacted by those opposite.

Remember those Liberal masters, the Baillieu family, who gave the middle finger to nurses and healthcare workers when they were campaigning for healthcare outcomes and better wages and conditions? That is the ethos. The raw soul of the coalition is to attack our healthcare workers. The proof is in this week’s announcement, with a one-in-seven cutback of healthcare workers in our state coming under the $40 billion of cuts that are on the way under the Shadow Treasurer, Leader of the Opposition and member for Kew – a cash surplus that will mean no projects like Dandenong Hospital or Monash Medical Centre would even exist if it was for the coalition.

The choice is clear: a Labor government that backs in healthcare workers, that builds the facilities for tomorrow and makes sure the first-class healthcare offering is backed up by first-class facilities, or no projects for the next 10 years, no investment in health, no additional healthcare workers and one in seven looking for a job in another state or being outsourced internationally because there will be no work under a Liberal coalition agenda. That is the 10 years ahead. I am really keen to hear how my community will benefit from an upgrade to the Monash Medical Centre’s $535 million investment.