Tuesday, 28 July 2026

 Roma BRITNELL (South-West Coast) (19:19): (1737) My adjournment is for the Minister for Health. The Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment was promised as a project fit for the future of our growing region. Instead it has become a story of secrecy, broken promises and unanswered questions, and the Labor government have not publicly released revised plans following reports of cuts to the hospital. The action I seek is for the minister to guarantee the South-West Coast community that the amount of car parking promised in the Warrnambool Base Hospital redevelopment will be delivered in accordance with the original scope. The dedicated staff at Warrnambool Base Hospital do an extraordinary job every day. They work long hours under immense pressure, caring for our loved ones and often staying beyond the end of their shifts. Our doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, cleaners, ward clerks, orderlies and support staff deserve our gratitude and respect. They also deserve a government that keeps its promises.

When the Labor government announced the redevelopment of Warrnambool Base Hospital, staff parking formed part of its commitment. Yet following the reported cuts to the redevelopment, Labor have failed to release the revised plans. The community deserve to know what has been cut, how this will affect them and where their taxpayer funds are actually going. Staff have shared with me their concerns about having to walk significant distances to their vehicles, particularly after dark. Those concerns have only been heightened following the reports of a recent attempted abduction near the hospital. The hospital has a shuttle bus, but staff tell me this is not meeting their needs. We know the government are starving the hospital of adequate funds, but a bus that has finished its run before staff finish their shift clearly is not working. This Labor government regularly speaks about workplace safety and women’s safety. It spends millions of dollars telling Victorians how committed it is to protecting women. Yet those words ring hollow when predominantly female healthcare workers are left questioning their safety because promised infrastructure appears to have quietly disappeared. Regional Victorians deserve honesty. The minister needs to release the plans to clarify the parking and be transparent with the people of South-West Coast about what has been cut from their long-promised hospital.