Tuesday, 10 September 2019

 Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:20): My question is again to the Minister for Health. Minister, why has the Andrews Labor government decided to cut in 2020 funding to Victoria’s primary care partnerships (PCPs)?

 Ms MIKAKOS (Northern Metropolitan—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (12:20): I thank the member for her question. I do recall that in fact it was only a few sitting weeks ago that Ms Crozier came into this house during question time and was urging me to cut funding to Community Chef. The only person who has come into this house during this term of the Parliament and actually urged for a cut in my portfolio is in fact Ms Crozier. She came into this house and she said that we are throwing taxpayers money at Community Chef, a kitchen that provides meals for the vulnerable.

Mr Davis: On a point of order, President, the minister is clearly debating the question. Community Chef has nothing to do with primary care partnerships. Can she just answer the question on primary care partnerships rather than debating.

The PRESIDENT: The minister has only been speaking for 30 seconds, and I believe she is trying to give some sort of context, but I call her back to the question.

Ms MIKAKOS: I am making the point to the member that she is the only person who has come in here and called for cuts. We know that she has not stood up for Victorian patients in terms of standing up to her Liberal mates in Canberra. Come on, stand up for Victorian patients.

Ms Crozier: On a point of order, President, the minister is clearly debating. This has got absolutely nothing to do with the question I asked. I ask you to draw her back to the very simple question that I asked: why is the Andrews Labor government cutting the budget to the primary care partnerships?

The PRESIDENT: I call the minister back to the question.

Ms MIKAKOS: The point that I am making is that we as a government are making the investment that is necessary in our health services. We are making sure that patients get access to record operational funding to run our hospitals—$2.5 billion in this year’s budget. That is a record, and we are doing so in a challenging environment, at a time when we have had retrospective funding cuts coming from Canberra. We have had a very severe flu season this winter as well; it came very early. We are making the investments—

Ms Crozier: On a point of order, President, the minister is deflecting the question, talking about Community Chef. She is talking about everything else but the cuts to the primary care partnerships. I ask you to draw her back to the very simple question that I asked: why have they cut the budget to the primary care partnerships?

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister was going to some context, but I call her back to the question.

Ms MIKAKOS: The point I am making is that we are focused on clinical care and patient care. We are making the investments that are necessary to ensure patients get access to the clinical care they need when they need to go to their hospitals. We have seen pressure on our system. I am giving the broader context because we have got a number of issues that relate to a lack of action from Canberra that are having a direct impact on patient care in Victoria.

Another issue that I would encourage the member to do some advocacy to her mates in Canberra on is around the fact that we are losing regional GPs across Victoria in our primary care system as a direct result of the freeze on Medicare payments. They are leaving regional Victoria in droves, and that is having a direct impact on the emergency departments in our regional hospitals. So if you have an interest in patient care, then they are the issues to focus on, Ms Crozier.

I am making sure that our taxpayer funding is well utilised and is directed to patient care. That has got to be the key focus. We want to make sure that patients get the support they need and that we provide the funding into our hospitals that is necessary. That is my priority. That is what we have delivered—a record $2.5 billion in the budget this year. We have got $3.8 billion of infrastructure projects in the pipeline as well. We are making the investments that Victorians need to ensure a world-class health system.

 Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:25): I note that is the third question the minister has not answered appropriately or not answered at all in this question time. Minister, your denial of what is happening with the primary care partnerships is in direct and stark contrast to those on Labor’s backbench that have privately expressed concern regarding these cuts, so I ask: will you now provide the house with a breakdown table on the specific funding for each of Victoria’s 28 PCPs from 1 January 2020 and for each calendar year across the forward estimates, yes or no?

 Ms MIKAKOS (Northern Metropolitan—Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services) (12:25): Well, it is interesting that Ms Crozier is now purporting to represent the views of people on this side of the house, who are fighting each and every day to make sure that their health services get the funding that they need from Canberra. And they are not getting the funding that they need from Canberra. We are providing record funding as a government to make sure patients get the care that they need. We will continue to advocate for a better deal from Canberra. We are focused also on addressing the primary care issues—if the member is interested in primary care—by making sure that Minister Hunt and the federal government do more for GPs in regional Victoria. That is what primary care is about—making sure people can get access to GPs, not networks. It is about making sure people can get access to primary care when they need to see a GP, and that is an issue across regional Victoria that you are taking zero interest in, Ms Crozier. You are taking absolutely zero interest in that. So we will continue to make the investment that is necessary in clinical care to make sure people get the support that they need.