Thursday, 13 August 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:20): (1417) My question is again to the Minister for Health. Minister, staff at the Mildura hospital have been told that there will be no locums for six months. What impact will that have on the delivery of frontline care, such as surgery and other medical care, to the Sunraysia community?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:20): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. The provision of care for every Victorian, including those that are in regional and rural areas, is incredibly important. Earlier, in answer to your previous question, I outlined the record funding that our government has provided to our health services, including our hospitals, right across the state. When it comes to specific initiatives in our hospitals, I want to just talk about the additional investments that we have made, including a $1.6 billion uplift to Victorian hospitals to continue to deliver that world-class care. These investments are delivering $284 million over five years to support and expand hospitals in growing communities, $240.5 million over four years to support –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I know the minister is trying to pad for time, but my question is very specific. It is about the impact on the delivery of frontline services given there are no locums, and I would ask you to bring the minister back to answering this question, please – not what she is wanting to spruik – answering the question that is very important to this community.

The PRESIDENT: The minister is giving some background. She has got 2 minutes to address the question.

Ingrid STITT: As I was in the process of explaining, we have given a significant uplift to hospitals in this year’s budget, and of course we also have taken steps to support the workforce both in terms of the existing workforce but also the attraction and retention of workers, including frontline GPs, in our hospital system across the state. When it comes to individual local arrangements for locums and their local health services, often those arrangements are the subject of local agreements. If Ms Crozier is happy to provide me with the actual details of –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I am getting concerned that the minister is not across her brief. If she does not understand the impact of locums and the impact to the delivery of care and surgery – I mean, we have not even got the VAHI data. Where is that? There is no transparency.

The PRESIDENT: It is not a point of order.

Georgie Crozier: President, I would ask you to bring the minister back to answering the specific question that I asked.

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister was getting to the specific –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: I have ruled on the point of order.

Ingrid STITT: Ms Crozier, I was actually about to offer that if you would like me to seek some further advice from my department about the specific circumstances at the Mildura hospital, I would be more than happy to provide those to you outside of the standing orders, although I predict that you may not take me up on that offer. But of course if there are issues in any of our health services, whether they are in relation to individuals or operational matters, that you wish me to look into, I have always said that I will take that on notice and provide those details back to you or to any member in this chamber or indeed in the other place.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:24): What a woeful answer. Minister, this is question time, and I will continue to ask questions of you. My supplementary is: Minister, isn’t it a fact that Mildura’s budget cannot pay for capital improvements such as IT upgrades and therefore the hospital has had to resort to cutting funding for locum services?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:25): I completely reject the premise of your question, Ms Crozier, because the way in which health service budgets are struck is a process where the department works closely with each health service, including hospitals, and there are very clear statements of expectation and priorities that are set out that hospitals must deliver. Frontline provision of health care is an absolute priority. If there are specific issues that that health service have in relation to other operational matters, they should be raising that directly with the department. I will certainly be going back to the department to seek some more information about this.

Members interjecting.

Ingrid STITT: We do not cut hospitals. We have built 12. You close them.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:26): I move:

That the minister’s responses be taken into consideration on the next day of meeting.

Motion agreed to.