Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I want to address a number of issues in relation to paramedics and the push for a Grantville ambulance centre. Madam Deputy Speaker, as you would know, paramedics in Victoria serve a tremendously important role. The MICA paramedics do not just take people to hospital; they also bring advanced medical care in times of emergency to those in need. I saw this recently at the Rosebud RSL when, during a speech, one of the members of the audience suffered a serious health issue, and their life to a certain extent was in the balance. The paramedics from MICA arrived within a matter of minutes. They provided life-saving emergency care, and a life was preserved and protected as a result.

Against that background, it has been deeply distressing for the paramedics and for those who rely on and support the paramedics to know that there has been an issue in Victoria which has threatened that service. What we have needed is a career structure for the MICA paramedics. What we have also needed is an appropriate pay structure. These people, who are committed and dedicated, had been forced to the point of resigning en masse today. As of late last night there was a resolution, as I understand it. The nature of that resolution will become clear as we go on, but my understanding is that the career structure has been promised. We will watch with great vigilance to see that the paramedics of the Mornington Peninsula, Westernport, the Bass Coast and all of Victoria do actually get access to that career structure. It is a shame that it was brought to this point, where dedicated professionals had to threaten to withdraw their services permanently. I am pleased, however, that there seems to be some resolution and will be vigilant in pushing that through.

That brings me to a subset of this issue, which is Grantville, a town on the eastern side of Westernport Bay. It is a beautiful town of 3,000 permanent residents, with thousands more holidaying in the region throughout the year. It is rated as one of the highest need areas for ambulance support within Victoria. Let me just deal with some of the facts. The nearest ambulances are far too far away. Wonthaggi is 35 kilometres or half an hour’s drive away, if there is an immediate dispatch. Cranbourne is 45 minutes away, if there is an immediate dispatch. What we need and what we will campaign for is very clear: we want to see that there is an ambulance stationed at Grantville. This is about thousands of people in one of the areas with the highest rating of need in Victoria. The time for a Grantville ambulance centre or station is now, and we will continue the campaign. (Time expired)

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