Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (13:02): (2378) In this place this week I have already raised with the Minister for Health the issues in respect to paediatric services at Maroondah Hospital – in fact I did that just yesterday. Today I ask the Minister for Health to provide to my community certainly something in the form of a statement that will give us guidance and confidence in respect to the paediatric care that our children locally can receive. I do that in the full knowledge that just today and just moments ago the Minister for Health Infrastructure has made an announcement in respect to a so-called new emergency department for children. The Labor Party did this back in 2019, when they announced a brand new emergency department for children and never, ever delivered upon that. But of course today the government is saying the same thing yet again, notwithstanding the fact that the current emergency department administration wing is also being relocated as we speak. My community and my constituents, and children in particular, want to know from the health minister what services we currently have and how they can expected them to be changed should this emergency department for children ever come to fruition, having failed us since 2018.