Tuesday, 3 October 2023

Inglewood ambulance station

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:50): (472) My adjournment is for the attention of the Minister for Health. The action I am seeking is for the minister to explain to the Inglewood community why the state government demolished the old Inglewood ambulance station last Monday and misled the community. I raised this matter in Parliament on behalf of the local community some time ago, seeking the minister’s support to delay the demolition to give time for a more amenable solution to be found. I wrote to the minister and followed up with a phone call to her office. I tabled two petitions in Parliament with over 400 signatures from the local residents seeking to save the old ambulance station, and I also spoke with the lower house member Martha Haylett seeking her support.

Local residents wanted to see the building retained for community use as Inglewood and Districts Health Service requires more space and there is also demand for accommodation in the town. Until recently the building had been used by ambulance officers before they moved next door to a brand new ambulance station. Instead of demolishing the old ambulance station and taking the remnants to the tip, locals wanted to see the building put to good use. The Minister for Health ignored repeated requests from the local community to save the building and misled the public by stating that the 1980s brick building contained asbestos. Contrary to the minister’s advice, demolition contractors onsite confirmed that the building had no asbestos. Given that the local community raised funds to build the old station and wanted to keep it, I call on the minister to explain why the state government ignored the local community and demolished the building when in fact there was no asbestos.