Thursday, 5 October 2023

Essendon Fields Airport

Trung LUU (Western Metropolitan) (18:32): (495) My question is in relation to Ambulance Victoria. I direct this to the Minister for Health Infrastructure. The action I seek is for the minister to provide a business case and a reason for continuing with the planned work at Essendon Fields airbase, used by Air Ambulance Victoria. At Essendon airport there are two locations that Ambulance Victoria use: Air Ambulance use the airbase, and Adult Retrieval Victoria, stroke telemedicine and other medical services are located 1 kilometre away from the brand new Essendon Fields operations centre.

The original plan under the aeromedical services improvement program was to co-locate medical services across the airbase and the operations centre. To accommodate these services at the airbase, funding was allocated to upgrade the facility for this expansion. One feature of the upgrade was a plan to build a large carport for service vehicles. To make room for this they got rid of the staff and business car parks onsite and leased 23 car parks nearby. But now the plan has changed. The medical services will all be located at the operations centre, so the upgrade at the airbase is no longer necessary. However, since the funding has been allocated, originally planned work continues, with $250,000 for a carport that my constituents have told me is not needed or required. So can the minister please provide an explanation for the planned work at the Essendon airbase, used by Air Ambulance Victoria, when this money could be better spent in other ways?