Premier Ben Carroll has promised to cut emergency department wait times by 20 per cent if Labor is re-elected. Speaking at University Hospital Geelong, he said 12 hospital emergency departments would be expanded by 25 per cent. The plan also includes 1500 new health workers, among them 750 nurses, and 250 more beds. Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said the changes would allow more than 210,000 patients to be treated each year. The state average emergency department wait is currently 15 minutes, though some patients wait more than two hours.
Rough sleepers in Geelong could receive more help to find housing if the Victorian Labor government is re-elected. It has pledged $250,000 to Neami's Towards Home Plus Assertive Outreach Program, which links people with accommodation and services. Neami National chief executive Tom Dalton said the money would help more people access support. Geelong Member Christine Couzens said the service had helped vulnerable people gain housing. Housing Minister Nick Staikos said demand for homelessness services was still rising.
A re-elected Labor state government has pledged $1 million to upgrade the Gordon Recreation Reserve oval and fix its well-known slope. The surface falls about a metre from one end to the other, which club members say causes repair work and rolled ankles after heavy rain. Moorabool Shire has earmarked $1.2 million toward the total project cost of $2.4 million, and the work already features in the venue's master plan. Local MP Michaela Settle said the oval needs levelling. The oval was first reconstructed in the 1980s by volunteers and is now not fit for purpose under current standards.
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A $500,000 Labor election commitment could lead to Geelong Racecourse and nearby land being developed into a wider sporting and community precinct. Geelong MP Chris Couzens announced the pledge at the Geelong Cup, saying the money would fund a precinct plan if the government is re-elected next month. The club has floated options including a multi-sport precinct and possible housing, although these proposals remain at an early stage. The government has not committed funding to any resulting building projects.
A women's health organisation in south-west Victoria has welcomed election commitments on abortion care from both Labor and the Liberal Party. Labor has pledged $30 million over four years to make abortion care free for all Victorians and extend medical abortion from nine to 10 weeks. Opposition leader Jess Wilson matched the funding pledge but ruled out changing the medical abortion time limit. Women's Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West chief executive Jodie Hill said removing the cost barrier would stop income determining access to care.
