Thursday, 7 April 2022

Mildura Base Public Hospital

Mr GEPP (Northern Victoria) (11:06): The coalition have been running a dishonest campaign in my electorate in Mildura regarding the so-called failure to report the hospital’s elective waiting list. Last week Ms Lovell called for the data to be released, but there is just one small problem—as a subregional hospital the Mildura base is not required to report such data. And what is worse is that her leader, Mr Davis, on a visit to the hospital shortly before she called for this data was told exactly that by the hospital. Yet Mr Davis and Ms Lovell continue to cook up this scam.

They have form, this pair. Mr Davis of course was the health minister who shockingly extended the private contract of the Mildura base hospital despite the overwhelming protestations of the local community. Ms Lovell of course, despite being in this place for 20 years, has never stood up and supported the Mildura hospital’s return to public hands—on not one occasion. She has been the cheerleader for a privatised Mildura base hospital, and as we exposed yesterday with the housing development for women in Bentleigh, we expose her again today for her fraudulent activity in the community pretending to support the locals on the Mildura base hospital. Contrast that with the Andrews Labor government last year in October: after returning the hospital to public hands I announced $5.37 million to be invested in the hospital for theatre upgrades. We are about positive outcomes for the Mildura community, unlike Mr Davis and Ms Lovell.