Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Albury–Wodonga regional health summit

Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (13:42): Last Friday I spent the day in Wodonga at the Albury–Wodonga regional health summit, together with my Liberal–National colleagues Georgie Crozier, Gaelle Broad and Tim McCurdy. Albury Wodonga Health consists of two campuses, with hospitals on both sides of the border run by the Victorian Department of Health. The summit discussed the future of health services delivery in Albury–Wodonga and heard that a 2022 election commitment of $225 million from the Victorian government, with matched funding from New South Wales, cannot possibly deliver the hospital that was promised and is needed. The $450 million was meant to build the first three of several stages, but we heard that this will not even deliver stage 1. We heard that a plan to meet the actual demand for beds and theatres has been discarded in favour of a plan designed to fit the budget.

The forum was well attended by a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives from the national health bodies, the Commonwealth and New South Wales governments, local Liberal and National MPs, a New South Wales Greens MP and federal Liberal and independent MPs as well as CEOs and mayors from councils that form the catchment area of 300,000 residents. Missing from the summit was the Victorian government, conspicuous by its absence. Not a single representative from the government – no minister, no parliamentary secretary, no local MLC and no Victorian Labor member – and no health department representative was in attendance. They should have been there, and they should have been listening.