Thursday, 5 March 2020

Members statements

Swan Hill hospital

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (09:37): I want to raise the issue again of the Swan Hill Needs a New Hospital committee and their desire to have the feasibility study for the new Swan Hill hospital released by the Minister for Health. I asked the Minister for Health on 12 November last year in a constituency question to release this report. The Minister for Health has chosen not to respond to that constituency question. The Minister for Health may think she is being cute by not answering the member of Parliament who asked that question, but she is actually putting a slight on the community of Swan Hill by not answering that question. It is not about the MP; it is about the community that I asked a question on, and she is slighting the community by not answering that question.

I think that goes to the heart of the arrogance of the Andrews Labor government, that they do not believe they have to be accountable to the people of Victoria or they actually have to govern for the people of Victoria. It is all about the government, not about the people. As we know, when it becomes all about the government and not about the people the government has actually lost sight of what it has been elected for.

The emergency department at the hospital is going to need some funding to upgrade it because it is not satisfactory. It would be a very disappointing situation if there was money spent upgrading the emergency department and then when the new hospital was built that money was effectively wasted because that work would have to be torn down and rebuilt. We desperately want the Minister for Health to release the feasibility study so that the Swan Hill Needs a New Hospital committee knows what is going on.