Tuesday, 16 June 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (21:47): (2579) My adjournment matter this evening is for the attention of the Minister for Health, and the action I seek is for the minister to urgently confirm whether Victorian government funding for Regional Trials Network Victoria will continue beyond 30 June 2026, which is in just a few days time. Cancer does not discriminate by postcode, but too often access to treatment, clinical trials and health outcomes do. Regional Victorians continue to face significant barriers when diagnosed with cancer. They are more likely to travel long distances for treatment, less likely to participate in clinical trials and in many cases experience poorer outcomes than their metropolitan counterparts. At a time when cancer incidence is forecast to increase as our population grows and ages, this disparity should concern every member of this Parliament. A single example, and something that is dear to me and close to my family, is prostate cancer, one of the most prevalent cancers in Victoria, responsible for 17 per cent of all diagnoses. Seven thousand men this year will be diagnosed; 800 of those men will die. Prostate cancer hits hardest in the west and east of our state: a heat map of deaths shows from Geelong to Warrnambool and from Sale to Mallacoota as bright red, well above the national average.

Regional Trials Network Victoria was championed by this government as a tool to bridge that gap. Bringing together regional health services, clinicians and researchers, the network was to expand access to cancer clinical trials for patients living outside Melbourne. RTN Vic’s own documents say its work was supported by a $2.4 million Victorian government grant through the Victorian Cancer Agency’s improving rural health outcomes initiative. That funding equates to approximately $500,000 per year over the life of the network’s 2020–25 strategic plan.

However, just a few weeks ago the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre told me, in this very Parliament in Queen’s Hall, that this money runs out in a fortnight. I also understand that nothing replaces it. Why would the government allow funding to lapse for a network specifically faced by regional cancer patients? Why would support be withdrawn just as demand for cancer services continues to grow? And what message does that send to regional communities who already face additional hurdles accessing specialist care?

The government is always spruiking improving health equity, strengthening regional health care and getting care close to home. Those commitments must be backed by action. The action I seek is for the minister to confirm whether funding for RTN Vic will continue beyond 30 June 2026, identify any funding allocated in the 2026–27 budget to support the network and, if funding has not been renewed, outline what steps will be taken to ensure regional Victorians do not lose access to the clinical trial opportunities, research capability and collaborative cancer care that the network has helped deliver. Regional cancer patients deserve the same access to gaining care close to home. They deserve the same hope, innovation and life-saving treatment opportunities as any Victorian, regardless of where they live.