Darren Chester (Gippsland, National Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I believe in localism. It's the very simple idea that the wisdom of local people should be respected, that local people should have more control over what happens in their local areas as much as possible. That's why I've written to the Prime Minister, urging him to intervene in a Victorian government plan to merge country hospital boards, which will inevitably lead to reduced access to services in smaller Gippsland towns. This is Victorian Labor's plan to silence local voices who might have the audacity to even complain about the budget cuts to health services in their communities. Gippslanders are very proud of their hospitals, and volunteers work hard to fundraise because they see it as a vital local service. We expect local people to have a say in how their health services are delivered.

Why have I written to the Prime Minister? Because the Commonwealth provides the majority of the funding for local hospital services, and this proposal has nothing to do with improving patient care. The federal government will be expected to pick up the bill and provide the health services when this city focused plan goes pear shaped. Given there has been no consultation with local MPs, councils or community members, I want to know whether the federal government is also involved in this ill-considered plan by Victorian Labor.

The board members and senior staff of health service providers in my community have been required to sign nondisclosure agreements in order to be briefed by Melbourne based bureaucrats about the reckless changes to their regional health services. This will rob communities of local autonomy and lead to a dumbing down of regional communities by removing the capacity for residents to serve on their local health boards.