Northcote electorate
Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (14:46): (139) My question is for the Minister for Health, and I ask: how are our nursing and midwifery scholarships supporting Victoria’s healthcare workforce? Tomorrow is International Day of the Midwife, an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible work of this dedicated group of healthcare workers. Midwives and nurses are there for us during some of the most joyful, challenging and transformational moments of our lives. I recall my own experiences of giving birth and how the reassuring, steady expertise of the midwives and nurses gave me comfort and strength in those beautiful, terrifying moments. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the midwives and nurses in my community and in Victoria more broadly, who bring empathy and skill to this rewarding and challenging profession every single day. It is more important than ever that we continue to invest in, grow and strengthen our midwifery and nursing workforce. That is why our free nursing and midwifery scholarships are so important. This $270 million project is removing the financial barriers to study and helping recruit and train more than 17,000 nurses and midwives into our health system.