Thursday, 24 September 2026

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:09): (1503) My question is again to the Minister for Health. Minister, 6400 nurses will graduate this year. Can you confirm how many graduates have been offered a placement for 2027?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:10): I thank Ms Crozier for her question. Of course our government is incredibly proud – again. When we are talking about investing in healthcare workers, since coming to office we have employed more than 17,000 nurses, since 2014, which is all about making sure that patients in our hospital services and our healthcare services are getting world-class care. I would point you to the significant reforms around nurse-to-patient ratios and midwife-to-patient ratios that our government has legislated and built on since coming to government. In terms of our graduate nurse numbers, there is a process that is gone through every year with the department and also when the tertiary placement numbers are provided. That is a process that is actually underway now. I am not in a position to give exact numbers to Ms Crozier on the numbers that have been offered, because as she knows, there is a –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I would ask you to ask the minister to come back. Can she confirm how many graduates have been offered a placement? I think I just heard the minister say she does not know.

The PRESIDENT: I think the minister was responsive to the question.

Ingrid STITT: I did not say that I could not give the numbers. I said the process was still underway. What I can say is that there has been funding provided in this year’s budget for an additional 250 nurse and midwifery graduates in the transition-to-practice phase of their careers. There is a process every year that we go through, and that work is being undertaken currently by the department.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:12): Minister, given fewer than 3000 of the 6400 nurse graduates have been offered a placement in 2027, what advice have you received regarding –

Ingrid Stitt: On a point of order, President, my apologies, I just did not catch the beginning of Ms Crozier’s supplementary.

The PRESIDENT: Ms Crozier, could you restart, please?

Georgie CROZIER: Minister, given fewer than 3000 of the 6400 nurse graduates have been offered a placement in 2027, what advice have you received regarding the projected shortfalls in the nursing workforce post 2028?

 Ingrid STITT (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Ambulance Services, Special Minister of State) (12:13): Ms Crozier has asked me a question and asserted numbers. I have already indicated the process is still underway, so there is no final number that she is able to point to. We are going through the process as we normally do each year with the intake of our nurse graduates –

Members interjecting.

Ingrid STITT: As I was saying, we have invested in this year’s budget again, and 17,000 additional nurses in the system –

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, I know the minister wants to avoid this question, but it is very specific: what advice have you received regarding the projected shortfalls in the nursing workforce post 2028? I would ask you to bring the minister back to responding to that very specific question.

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister was responsive to the question.

Ingrid STITT: Quite to the contrary – Ms Crozier asserts I do not want to talk about nurses – I always want to talk about nurses, because they are the backbone of the health system. We are proud to have employed more than 17,000 additional nurses since 2014, and we are going to continue to back in their incredible work.

Georgie Crozier: On a point of order, President, it is a very specific question, and I would ask you to ask the minister to come back to this: what are the projected shortfalls in the nursing workforce post 2028? She went nowhere near it, President. She fluffed around. She bumbled around. She went nowhere near it.

The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister was responsive. In the start of her answer, she was responsive to the question. We have 7 seconds left. I am not sure if we will get to the point, Ms Crozier, where you are satisfied with the answer. So maybe, as a pre-emptive strike, I am happy to review the answers and come back to the house.

 Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (12:15): I move:

That the minister’s responses be taken into consideration.

Motion agreed to.