Wednesday, 28 August 2024

Health services

Nick McGOWAN (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:52): That is a fortuitous segue – getting things done. Things are getting anything but done in the place of Ringwood, anything but done in the place of Nunawading, Mitcham, Donvale, Forest Hill, Vermont, you name it, because the people who live there know only too well the bitter reality. The reality for them has been that for six years this government sadly has failed to live up to its promise to deliver an emergency department for children – that is right. Callously, six years ago this government promised an emergency department for children, and then, guess what, they never, ever, ever delivered. It got worse, because at the last election they promised to rebuild the hospital. Have you rebuilt the hospital? Not only have you not rebuilt the hospital –

Members interjecting.

Nick McGOWAN: I will take you up on the interjection. Not only have you not rebuilt the hospital, you have actually not provided a single cent in the forward estimates, so that means although you have made the promise, you have not provided a single cent going forward. It is a callous and calculated lie. The people opposite know it. The people of Victoria are starting to understand it all too well. Time and again what we are seeing is this government sadly investing in all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons and with little regard for how it is actually spent. Meanwhile the people in the suburbs, the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, are doing it tough and need medical treatment when they need it most. Guess what happened last night? They actually had to get the paramedics to come into the hospital to administer life-saving support. It is a travesty. It should not be happening in 2024, and it is on your head.