Friday, 14 August 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:27): (1425) My question is to the Minister for Health. Minister, it has been reported that last month cancer services, including critical operations and chemotherapy, were cut at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre as a result of industrial action. A hundred chemotherapy patients were affected, so I ask: how many cancer patients had their surgery cancelled?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:28): Thank you for your question, Ms Crozier. It is important to place on the record that Labor will always support the rights of working people to collectively bargain, and with that right comes a number of important protections. We know that it is nurses, midwives, our doctors, our allied health workers, our pharmacists, psychologists, medical scientists, cooks, cleaners and a whole range of incredible people that help keep our hospital system and our health services going. They deserve to have their work valued. I am very hopeful that negotiations for renewed enterprise bargaining agreements across a range of different health workforces will continue to work towards a fair deal that acknowledges their contribution to the health system.

I am advised that, in terms of the impact of protected industrial action on various parts of the health system, it is very important that patient safety is always the priority in the health system. My expectation, and it will always remain my expectation, is that any protected industrial action is undertaken in a way that protects patient safety.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I have been listening to the minister’s response, and I would ask you to draw her back to the question I asked, which was very simple: how many cancer patients had their surgery cancelled?

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister was being relevant. I am just concerned about whether she has that level of detail at hand.

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: I will finish what I was going to say. I will call the minister to the question.

Georgie Crozier: Further to the point of order, President, it has been acknowledged that there were 100 chemotherapy patients that were affected. The numbers are out there, and I would ask you to ask the minister to come back and answer this very important question.

The PRESIDENT: As I said, I am not in a position to be aware of any figures myself. I was just wondering if the minister had that level of detail. I was just pondering that. But as I said, I will call the minister.

Ingrid STITT: I was about to make the point that of course patient safety and the minimisation of disruption are incredibly important. I want to acknowledge the work of our health services and local union and worker representatives, who I am advised have been actively engaging to minimise the impacts to patients and uphold patient safety on the ground, and I thank them for that. Of course health services continue to deliver record numbers of surgeries in the system. The advice that I have in regard to industrial action is that, as I have indicated, there has already been work done closely with worker representatives to protect patient safety and to minimise impacts on patients, which is the right outcome, and I am advised that all category 1 surgeries were delivered within the recommended time.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:31): I note that the minister did not answer my question. I was not talking specifically about category 1. Minister, your government is at war with doctors, who are taking industrial action, medical scientists and others that you referenced in your answer to my substantive as well as those that work in cancer laboratories, pharmacists and other critical healthcare professionals who care for vulnerable patients. These cuts to vital services are putting even more pressure on our struggling health system. Minister, what advice have you received as to the impact that this ongoing industrial action is having on patients who need vital and life-saving surgery?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:32): I am certainly not going to take any advice from you, Ms Crozier, given your dubious industrial relations track record. What I can say is that since coming into this portfolio I have been very focused on making sure that these negotiations continue in good faith, and not just continue but actually result in an outcome that everybody feels is appropriate. I have been engaging closely with my department and also with representatives of various workforces that are currently bargaining. I have had the opportunity to discuss these agreements –

Georgie Crozier: Name them.

Ingrid STITT: Well, I had a good conversation with the AMA president about the doctors’ EBA. I am sitting down with him on Monday, and I am looking forward to that. I am looking forward to that because I actually want to focus on resolving the dispute, not playing politics with Victorians’ safety.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:33): I move:

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

Motion agreed to.