Thursday, 10 December 2020

Members statements

COVID-19

Mr WALSH (Murray Plains) (09:36): I wish to bring to the attention of all government ministers that swift and decisive action is needed to stop the use of COVID-19 as an excuse for departmental staff to shirk their day-to-day responsibilities with the general public. The number of calls and visits I am receiving in my electorate office is increasing, not decreasing, despite so many COVID restrictions being eased. I have an 80-year-old constituent in Kerang who has been trying unsuccessfully to raise something at the land titles office to make urgent and necessary changes to his property title certificates. An oversight omitted his wife’s name on a title, and he is now rightly concerned in the event of his death that she will be left without her rights. My office has contacted that department, and finally it is my understanding that someone will make contact with my constituent, but it has taken far too long.

The ripple effect of this attitude has been felt in many corners of the community. From Kyabram I was contacted by a 26-year-old constituent, the mother of a six-month-old baby and a woman who is reliant on colostomy bags for her physical wellbeing. She receives monthly supplies of bags via Australia Post, but when they failed to deliver she discovered her Bendigo-based support system was practising COVID safety, and the staff point-blank refused to do anything to help her on the day they were closed for their own safety. While we were able to help this woman with the excellent support of the Echuca Regional Health chief executive, Nick Bush, it does not alter the fact that she was facing a genuine health risk which could have had the worst possible outcome and no-one in Bendigo wanted to help her at all. These issues are ongoing. I urge the government to actually get their bureaucrats to do— (Time expired)