Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Ministers statements: ambulance services

Mr ANDREWS (Mulgrave—Premier) (14:06): I am delighted to be able to update the house on the fact that this year alone the government, in partnership with Ambulance Victoria, has recruited some 404 new ambulance paramedics and 157 of those are destined for regional Victoria. This is a very strong recruitment performance and builds on last year, the biggest ever year of paramedic recruitment—more than 700 new ambulance paramedics were recruited last year.

Mr Edbrooke: We’re not going to war with them.

Mr ANDREWS: Yes, that is right. As my honourable friend the member for Frankston points out, we are not going to war with our paramedics. We are instead recruiting lots of them, respecting them, listening to them and valuing them, and they in turn are working so very hard for every single Victorian. Last year was the biggest year ever in recruitment; we had more than 700 extra paramedics. This year we are set to, and year to date we project that we will, recruit even more than the biggest ever year, last year—so even more than 700 paramedics.

Speaker, I know you will be pleased to know that 157 of those are going to regional Victoria. For instance, 26 paramedics will be joining the Barwon south-west region; 23 will be in Gippsland; 24 in Grampians Ballarat; 50 in Hume, central and northern regions; and 34 in Loddon, Mallee and Bendigo. So right across regional Victoria there will be more paramedics and right across metropolitan Melbourne there will be more ambulance paramedics with the equipment, with the resources, with the budget and with the support and respect of our government—something that they have not always had from others. We back our paramedics to keep doing the work that they do—saving lives, changing lives—and that is why we are very proud to be able to say we have increased from 43 paramedics per 100 000 Victorians to 56 paramedics per 100 000 Victorians—not by good luck but by strong investment and consistent support and an abiding respect as they are highly skilled and highly effective professionals.