Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Department of Treasury and Finance

Budget papers 2024–25

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (17:29): I rise to speak to the 2024–25 state budget, and what a horror budget it was. I do it in the context of the extraordinary blowouts that have occurred across health and hospital infrastructure. I note that the minister has written to CEOs and board chairs, and in the letter it says there is:

… a requirement for a renewed level of financial discipline and accountability.

That is really extraordinary given the shocking record that the Allan Labor government has for fiscal responsibility, lecturing to health services, many of which are actually working towards their budget. It is the government who is cutting the budget of rural and regional health services. They have not factored in wage cost increases, utility cost increases – I know we have just been having the energy debate; well, this government has seen a massive increase in energy prices – and then of course the consumable prices that have increased as well. The government is going back to pre-COVID times.

I want to highlight to the house – in the time I have – just some of the budget blowouts in health infrastructure. Frankston Hospital was promised $562 million. There is a current blowout in the budget of $558 million; the budget is now $1.12 billion. For the Footscray Hospital, the 2021–22 budget was $1.495 billion; the 2022–23 budget, $1.998 billion. The current budget blowout is $503 million. The Victorian Heart Hospital was promised $150 million. The 2022–23 budget was $577 million; the current budget blowout is $427 million. Barwon women’s and children’s hospital was promised $100 million. The 2024–25 budget is $514.1 million, a current budget blowout of $414.1 million.

Community hospitals – well, that was a big broken promise by the government. Ten community hospitals – they are not delivering those. The 2023–24 budget was $675 million and the 2024–25 budget $869.9 million – a current budget blowout of $194.9 million, and they are not even delivering on those 10 community hospitals. The Ballarat Health Services expansion and redevelopment was promised $461.6 million. In the 2022–23 budget there was $541.6 million to provide energy supply to the hospital – again we are having that energy debate. Energy costs are skyrocketing, and those costs – WorkCover costs, wage costs, consumable costs – are all adding to costs for health services. In the 2024–25 budget there was $650.4 million, a budget blowout of $108.8 million. The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital redevelopment was promised $201 million. The 2024–25 budget was $319.8 million – a blowout of $118.8 million. Alfred hospital urgent infrastructure, and I stress urgent infrastructure, has blown out for six years – hardly urgent. The 2023–24 budget was $69.5 million and the 2024–25 budget $174.5 million, so that is a blowout of $105 million.

The emergency department expansion program – the 2023–24 budget was $236.4 million and the current budget $279.9 million, a blowout of $43.5 million. For the Casey Hospital expansion $106.3 million was promised, a budget blowout of $33.5 million. The Royal Children’s Hospital expansion, with $31 million in 2023–24 and $56.4 million in 2024–25, was another blowout of $25.4 million. For the Angliss Hospital expansion stage 2, the 2021–22 budget was $103.4 million and the 2022–23 budget $112 million, a blowout of $8.6 million. The Monash Medical Centre expansion and upgrades were promised $71 million. The budget was $76.3 million, a blowout of $5.3 million. Wangaratta health care was promised $2.4 million. The latest 2022–23 budget promised $7.5 million, a budget blowout of $5.1 million.

That is hundreds of millions of dollars in budget blowouts because this government cannot manage money, cannot manage projects and cannot manage health. As a consequence it is rural and regional health services that are paying the price. Victorians in those communities are paying the price because of the Allan Labor government’s ongoing mismanagement of the Victorian budget. It is going to cost health services an enormous amount when they are amalgamated, and that will mean a loss of services to the area, a loss of jobs and a loss of a local voice. I urge the government to reconsider their issues, but I also say: how dare the minister lecture to health services and call for a renewed level of financial discipline and accountability when there is none under the Allan government and the budgets are blowing out like they are.