Wednesday, 4 February 2026

 Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (14:02): I rise to make a short contribution on the motion in Ms Crozier’s name around Ambulance Victoria. At the outset I want to reiterate the important work that our paramedics do: when we are in times of need, when we are in emergency situations, they are the people that we call and they are the people who are on the frontline dealing with this day to day.

This is what we heard during the inquiry into Ambulance Victoria. As a member of the Legal and Social Issues Committee, we looked at this extensively throughout 2025. The report was delivered in October 2025. The government has until April 2026 to respond to the recommendations that came out of that inquiry. When looking at this motion that is before us today, we do have to allow for that time and that process to take place. It is some of the important work we do in this place. As members of the committee we went through the process to consider all of the evidence, listen to all the experts and the stakeholders, listen to and consult with those that are most impacted by some of those misgivings about Ambulance Victoria who did come forward and did share those experiences with us. I feel it is our role as members of Parliament to allow those due processes to be supported. I emphasise the fact that I think it is important to allow the government time to respond to those recommendations, some of which will be alleviated and also the concerns raised in this motion will be alleviated through that process.

I also note the new CEO of Ambulance Victoria Jordan Embry did come and speak to us during that inquiry process. He was adamant that there are major failings within Ambulance Victoria and adamant that things do need to improve.

He has barely got his feet under the desk. He has been in that role for seven months at my count, and I think it is important for us as MPs to make sure that we are giving him that space to rectify some of those issues, particularly as he came forward as part of that inquiry process and acknowledged that.

Georgie Crozier: How many CEOs? I am not blaming him.

Rachel PAYNE: Exactly, Ms Crozier, I agree that we have seen a multitude of changes in that administration. To just briefly touch on what the inquiry highlighted, it included the challenges that Ambulance Victoria is undergoing, and that was evident throughout that inquiry process. Many of these challenges were acknowledged by the executive and the CEO of Ambulance Victoria. Some of the challenges that we did examine throughout that inquiry process, and particularly where we had a lot of robust discussion and a lot of the workforce coming forward and speaking to us about their experiences, were around staffing and the need to build that workforce. One of the recommendations that came out of that inquiry was for investment in building up that workforce. Workplace culture was also a paramount discussion at the inquiry. We heard about flexible working arrangements and rostering, and this was particularly relevant to those working parents and regional workers and the experiences they shared around wanting to be part of this organisation but not having those flexible working arrangements and those improvements needing to be made. Mental health and wellbeing support was also a discussion that we had time and time again, particularly with those coming forward and sharing their experiences and some of those failings of the workplace culture within Ambulance Victoria. But I do note that one of the recommendations that was made was that Ambulance Victoria develops a culture that achieves operational effectiveness without compromising employee wellbeing.

It was also evident that there needs to be that lived experience from the top down, ensuring that the board of Ambulance Victoria has proportionate representation of paramedicine experience and expertise. Lived experience is paramount, and it really does help in ensuring that the workplace culture within Ambulance Victoria is at its best. We did hear a lot on the reporting of misgivings and failings, and I note that some of that is also included in the motion before us today, including public reporting of ambulance ramping data. A major issue that was paramount and highlighted throughout the inquiry process is this disconnect between where ambos are and where they are most needed, ramping being one of them.

Systems and improvements were something else that was raised. It is evident that the systems that they are currently operating mean that they are not able to provide the best value of service. I feel as though the CEO was adamant that that needed to be improved. Upgrades to digital communications and information technology for ambulances, particularly in regional Victoria, was something that we did discuss as a committee and made recommendations on.

There is also the issue around triage and around codifying and quantifying the triage and urgent call-outs. There were, at the time of the inquiry, many callers into talkback radio and things like that, talking of their experiences where they have called an ambulance and had an urgent call-out because they have had chest pain, but it may not have been a heart attack. It may have been chest pain, but I think in one instance it was someone talking about having an ingrown hair. The way that is captured within the reporting from calling 000 and through to dispatch was something that as a committee we identified needed to have that override power to be able to ensure that ambulances are getting to those who most need it.

Just to finish, I think as someone who was on that inquiry we did really go into great detail about the failings and misgivings around Ambulance Victoria. But there were also some things that we highlighted are operating quite effectively, and that in particular is around service delivery. I just want to finalise my contribution today by emphasising that we saw that Ambulance Victoria consistently meets its performance targets of high-quality service and care and that the metrics of performance were effective in that space.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (14:10): I want to thank those that have contributed to this debate. It is an important debate that we are having. I take on board some of the comments in support of our paramedics, and I too want to make that point. This is not about them and their work, this is about the government and the failings of the government to be able to support them to do their work. I think that was very evident in some of the shortages that have been highlighted in recent days. Also, as Ms Payne has just alluded to, there was the inquiry I put forward in this house, which the government voted against and did not want to go ahead. You are right, Ms Payne, in terms of the current CEO being very up-front and I think doing his utmost in the circumstances that he has been provided with. I note that he is also very up-front with his members, and I congratulate him on that. I think that is a refreshing look, because as we have had a revolving door of CEOs at Ambulance Victoria (AV) over recent years, we have not had that up-front component.

He said in an internal memo just recently around the shortages of shifts, which this motion goes to, that there had been an ‘oversupply’ of resourcing during the day so they were prioritising overtime for busier night shifts. He also said that budget considerations formed part of that discussion.

Those opposite made a ridiculous assertion about members of Parliament wanting to roster. That is not what this is about. It is not the point, and I think they miss the point about what is going on here. We need all of those shifts to be filled. I have worked night shift. It is absolutely ghastly. I am probably one of the few people in this place that actually know what a night shift is, working through it. You have, Mr Bourman, as a police officer. Others have in various roles. But there are not too many of us that have. It is not easy work to do and it does not suit everyone, but those shifts are incredibly important and they do have to be filled. But you are leaving big gaps in other parts of the system too, and I think that is the point of why I highlighted those shifts that were highlighted by the union. It was not just one or two; the point was that there were multiple stations that were affected, and I found that terribly concerning. That is why I say the problem still exists. A Labor Party MP said we were a bit cheeky to whinge about this. They were the exact words of the Labor MP. I find that incredibly concerning, given the Victorians who have died waiting for an ambulance, their family members who have been so distressed by not being able to get an ambulance and the paramedics who are trying to do their best but are ramped outside hospitals and cannot get to patients. That is the system. That is not AV and that is not paramedics; that is the government, who have failed the system. To say that we are whingeing, I can tell you I will be raising this time and time again till November.

Victorians want change in this state. They are desperate for change in this state because they are sick of the failings. They are sick of the excuses. We see, as I highlighted, the spruiking of providing extra MICA paramedics, but the funding is not there. I got that through an FOI. For the government to come out there and defend their position and say ‘Well, we’re putting in more funding’ – well, they should be. Since we were in power there are a million more Victorians in the state, so of course you should be funding adequately, but you have mismanaged the system and you have not understood what is needed. That is why I find it incredibly disappointing that the government have lost their way in providing proper governance for services and in providing the services that Victorians need, like health, like ambulance services, like education, like law and order, like community safety, like fixing potholes. Things that are impacting everyday Victorians every single day actually matter.

The priorities of this government are all wrong, and we have seen that, and that is why Victorians are crying out for change. I say again to those opposite: I will be highlighting the failures of your government, because there are many. People are dying because of your failures. People are not getting the services and the care and the support that they deserve and need. This motion highlights those failures. It is not about paramedics, it is about the government and their failures.

Council divided on motion: