Thursday, 14 November 2024

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Health system

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:02): My question is to the Premier. The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre had half a day’s cash on hand as at 30 June 2024. Why has the Premier so starved Victoria’s leading cancer treatment centre of funding that it cannot meet its fortnightly wage bill to pay doctors and nurses?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:03): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, because it gives me an opportunity to outline to the Leader of the Opposition how his question is wrong. It is a repeat pattern of behaviour from the Leader of the Opposition this week to present incorrect material to the house by way of questions. We have provided to the Peter MacCallum hospital and indeed all of our public hospitals across the state significant funding, indeed more funding than ever before, through this year’s budget process. I want to thank the hardworking healthcare workers right across our state for the delivery of world-class care.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, the annual report filed today is very clear: as at 30 June, half a day’s cash. On relevance, it was a very specific question about Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre’s cash reserves as at 30 June – very narrow.

The SPEAKER: It is not for me to determine whether the Premier is being factual. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked, and the Premier at the outset addressed the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: I did address the question at the outset, and if the Leader of the Opposition would like some additional facts, I will provide him with some additional facts. There are 40,000 more healthcare workers today in our great, strong public healthcare system than there were when Labor came to government – 40,000 more healthcare workers in our system. What does this mean for our healthcare system? What does this mean for Victorians? It means that we have had to rebuild a system that was slashed by the Leader of the Opposition’s crew when they were last in government.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, this is a specific, tight question around the cash reserves at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. We do not want to hear about all of the other generalities that the Premier wants to assert.

The SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

John Pesutto: But the Premier does need to be responsive, Speaker.

The SPEAKER: The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: I will say this to the Leader of the Opposition if he is so keen on a few facts. Further fact: in 2023–24, with the support of that significant investment, with the support of the tens of thousands more healthcare workers we have across our state, our hospitals have delivered more planned surgery than ever before. When you consider that our healthcare system was under – like every part of our community, but no part of our community was more impacted by the one-in-100-year pandemic than our hospital system –

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, again on relevance, can you please draw the Premier back to Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre? That is what we are asking about.

The SPEAKER: I cannot tell the Premier how to answer the question. The Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, standing order 58 does require the Premier to be direct, and multiple rulings from multiple Speakers – including, most recently, Speaker Brooks in 2022 – ruled that the answer must relate directly to the question asked, not some topic and not picking out a word, but directly relate.

Ben Carroll: On the point of order, Speaker, if you go to Rulings from the Chair: 1920–2023, page 153, ‘Nature of the reply’:

Content of answers. Standing Order 58 provides that ‘a minister will have discretion –

or the Premier –

to determine the content of any answer’ …

Speaker Maddigan.

The SPEAKER: I am really grateful that members have been reading up on standing orders and Rulings from the Chair. It makes my job very much easier. However, in this instance, the Premier answered the question at the outset and the Premier was being relevant to the question that was asked.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, in relation to your ruling, is it now a rule in this place that when a minister or Premier answers a question they then have the remainder of the time to answer anything they want and that the standing orders do not apply to them?

The SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

James Newbury interjected.

The SPEAKER: It is not a point of order. If you wish to question my rulings, you can come and see me in my office after question time. I have ruled on the point of order.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, under standing order 104, are members no longer entitled to take a point of order?

The SPEAKER: I did not say you could not take a point of order; I ruled the point of order out of order. I did not deny you the opportunity to raise a point of order; I ruled the point of order out of order.

Jacinta ALLAN: We will continue to back our nurses, our doctors and our paramedics. We will back them with the funding that they need – for example, through this year’s budget, where we have provided our hospitals with more funding than ever before to treat more patients than ever before. We have a growing and ageing population. We are treating more patients than ever before.

James Newbury: On a point of order, Speaker, standing order 58 requires the Premier to be direct. The Premier is answering generally. The Premier has not gone to the specifics of the question, and the standing orders do apply to the Premier at all times in the response.

Mary-Anne Thomas: On the point of order, Speaker, you have now ruled many times that the Premier is being entirely relevant to the question, in line with standing order 58. I ask that you rule the point of order out of order and ask the member for Brighton to stop wasting the house’s time.

Peter Walsh: Further on the point of order, Speaker, the Leader of the House is wrong in saying that the member for Brighton cannot raise points of order. I think the member –

Members interjecting.

Peter Walsh: You are saying that. You are saying he has no right –

The SPEAKER: Order! I would like to rule on the point of order.

Ben Carroll: On the point of order, Speaker, Speaker Smith on 21 March 2013 said:

Points of order must not be used to deliberately disrupt the proceedings or to respond to debate …

which he does every day in this chamber.

The SPEAKER: I have repeatedly responded to the points of order that have been raised in relation to being factual, being relevant and being direct, but I point out once again that I cannot compel the Premier how to answer a question, nor any minister.

Jacinta ALLAN: Alongside that record investment in our doctors, nurses and paramedics, we also invest in building new hospitals. I remind the Leader of the Opposition that I was proud to be part of the Labor government that helped build the brand new Peter MacCallum hospital. We invested in the Peter MacCallum hospital.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Polwarth is warned.

Jacinta ALLAN: I want to thank each and every one of those doctors and nurses and cleaners and allied health staff in the Peter MacCallum hospital, who provide world-class care to Victorians every single day.

Members interjecting.

The SPEAKER: The member for Broadmeadows is warned.

John PESUTTO (Hawthorn – Leader of the Opposition) (14:12): None of the major hospitals have met their target of 14 days cash on hand, including Peninsula Health at zero days and the Austin at minus 2.4 days. An FOI revealed that the Department of Health is not paying suppliers within the required 10 business days 40 per cent of the time. Why are small business suppliers to health services suffering and not being paid on time because the Allan Labor government cannot manage money and cannot manage hospitals?

Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:13): I reject the assertion that the Leader of the Opposition made in his question, and the reason why I reject that is because we have provided the most significant investment in our public health system in this state, a far cry from those who privatised our hospitals. He is a self-declared privatiser.

John Pesutto: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance, the question is: why aren’t hospitals paying their bills on time? A very tight question.

The SPEAKER: The Premier will come back to the question that was asked.

Jacinta ALLAN: As I said at the outset, I reject that assertion from the Leader of the Opposition, and we will continue to invest in our hospital system in record terms, a far cry from those who cut funding to our hospital system, who closed country hospitals –

David Southwick: On a point of order, Speaker, the Premier is debating the question. The question is: why isn’t the government paying its bills?

The SPEAKER: A point of order is not an opportunity to repeat the question. I ask the Premier to be relevant to the question.

Jacinta ALLAN: In being relevant to the question, I am rejecting what the Leader of the Opposition put in his question. We are investing in record terms. Those opposite privatised, cut and closed our great hospital system.