Thursday, 29 May 2025

COVID-19

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (22:09): (1695) I do not want to mention COVID, but I am going to have to in light of reports that have come out this evening suggesting that a strain that is wreaking havoc in China is now in Victoria. It is the new variant, NB1.8.1. As we know, under the management of Labor in this state, when the draconian measures were put in place we had the harshest of restrictions and the worst outcomes. The impacts of those measures that the government took at the time we are still feeling today. I am concerned obviously about what happened in the pandemic and what the government did and the massive, shocking impact it had on many Victorians.

But at the time, as you will recall, the government were saying that they were taking these measures to keep our doctors and nurses safe and to protect our health system. Given we have a large degree of vaccine hesitancy in this state and given the government has cut money to the public health units in the latest budget, it concerns me greatly that messages around various issues, especially around infectious diseases and childhood vaccination programs, are not being heard because of the harsh and draconian measures – the hard-hitting measures – that the government took at the time. Given the approach of the government during the pandemic about protecting our health system, given these reports today that say that this is moving very quickly – infecting cells faster than any other variant I think was the report – and given the budget cuts to our public health units by this government, the action I would like from the minister is to provide the advice she has received as to the impacts that are going to be felt by our health workforce this coming winter because we have got the worst flu season and now this COVID variant.