The Liberals and the Nationals have once again been caught out lying about our ambulance service, scaring local Morwell residents.
At a time when Latrobe Valley residents are already doing it extremely tough, it is a disgrace that the Coalition would peddle lies about the Ambulance Victoria Regional Headquarters in Morwell.
Any suggestion that local jobs have been affected is simply not true.
It is another example of blatant political scaremongering by the Coalition, who turned their back on the Latrobe Valley community at a time when they needed them the most during the Hazelwood Mine Fire.
The current Ambulance Victoria Regional Headquarters in Morwell are no longer fit for purpose for its hardworking staff. With the lease due to expire in coming months, work is underway to secure a new and more modern workplace.
The new Regional Headquarters will be located in Morwell. Ambulance Victoria staff are continuing to work out of the Morwell office while this search is underway.
Unlike the Coalition, we want to make sure all of our Ambulance Victoria staff – paramedics and office based staff alike – are supported and can do their job in safe and modern workplaces.
Under the previous Coalition Government, our ambulance system was in crisis with response times blowing out to the worst on the Australian mainland.
Through our continued investment and reform we’re beginning to turn this around, with ambulances now responding quicker to emergencies in the Latrobe Valley nearly three minutes faster than they were under the former Government.
We’re also building a new emergency services and ambulance hub in Morwell and investing across the broader region to give our paramedics the modern and safe facilities they need to do their job, saving lives.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Ambulance Services Jill Hennessy
“The Ambulance Victoria Regional Headquarters will remain in Morwell and no local jobs will be affected. Shame on the Liberals and the Nationals for their disgraceful scaremongering.”
“No amount of Liberal-National lies will take away from our investment in our ambulance services, or the fact that the former Government abandoned the Latrobe Valley at a time when they needed them the most.”
“Instead of going to war with our hardworking paramedics, we’re working with them side by side to rebuild our ambulance services and put the people in the Valley first.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020