Tuesday, 3 March 2026

 Bev McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:58): My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, new Department of Health data confirms University Hospital Geelong has recorded the third-worst emergency department wait times in Victoria for three consecutive quarters, with 90 per cent of patients waiting nearly 2½ hours to see a clinician. Geelong deserves better. Presentations have increased by more than 10 per cent in a single year to nearly 85,000, yet Barwon Health has failed to meet its ambulance transfer target for eight consecutive financial years. The government allocated Geelong just $4.4 million from its $50 million ramping package, a fraction of what this crisis demands. Minister, given this is a sustained systemic failure, not a temporary spike, when will you commit to a specific plan with clear deadlines to provide adequate funding to bring University Hospital Geelong’s emergency wait times in line with the Victorian average?