Tuesday, 9 September 2025

Western Victoria Region

Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:59): (1816) My constituency question is for the Minister for Health, and I ask: when will the Allan Labor government take responsibility for the catastrophic state of our health system and ensure that patients at Barwon Health’s University Hospital Geelong receive safe and timely care? Minister, the front page of the Geelong Advertiser today revealed the shocking ordeal of Portarlington mother of four Jacquie Murphy. She suffered a perforated bowel and endured an agonising 10-hour wait for surgery in Geelong hospital’s emergency department. During that time she begged for help, was refused adequate pain relief and was even accused of drug-seeking behaviour while in fact she was perilously close to death. This case is not an exception; it is the inevitable outcome of a health system in complete collapse and disarray under Labor.