Daniel Andrews unveils $26m package in last-ditch ambulance fix

A week out from the state election, Daniel Andrews has unveiled a last-ditch package to neutralise the state’s ambulance crisis.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Just a week out from the state election, Daniel Andrews has unveiled a last-ditch $26m package to neutralise the state’s ambulance crisis.

On Friday, Mr Andrews announced 40 mobile intensive care ambulance paramedics will be added to the state’s existing 600, with a $16m investment.

As well, the government will spend $10m on a new centre of paramedicine in partnership with Victoria University, while there are also plans to end the outsourcing of non-urgent patient transport.

At least 33 Victorians died waiting for ambulances between December 2020 and May 2022, according to a report by the state’s inspector-general for emergency management released in September.

In the final year of the Liberal Party’s single term of government, during the 2013-14 financial year 73.7 per cent of the most critical emergency incidents – “code 1” incidents – were responded to within 15 minutes.

According to the latest Ambulance Victoria quarterly report, 64.3 per cent of code 1 incidents were responded to within 15 minutes.

Mr Andrews blamed the pandemic on poor response times.

“We have all lived through a one-in-a-hundred-year event … which has put incredible pressure on our health system,” he said.

Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said with the advent of Covid-19, every state in Australia experienced “massive blowout times”.

“The comparison with what happened in 2014 is a completely different scenario. It's the Liberals back then were the virus,” he said.

Meanwhile, both parties traded barbs over integrity issues.

The Liberals have accused the Victorian Electoral Commission of political interference after communications director Sue Lang told 3AW radio that of “all the key players” in their investigation into allegations Matthew Guy and Mitch Catlin tried to circumvent donation laws, not one responded satisfactorily.

When she was asked repeatedly if Mr Guy refused to co-operate with the investigation, Ms Lang said: “I am saying that the people we invited to speak with us did not satisfy our inquiries.

“All the key players in the initial issue were invited to respond to questions. We received no satisfactory response from anybody,” she said.

Party lawyers issued a cease-and-desist letter to the commission to stop further commentary, demanded they issue a statement to confirm Mr Guy complied and supplied documents on September 21, and asked for Ms Lang be stood down. The party’s health spokeswoman, Georgie Crozier, said the commentary could erode trust in the democratic process.

“The VEC is the umpire, not the player in the state election. This is a serious, deliberate and unprecedented interference in a state election,” she said.

Earlier, Daniel Andrews refused to scrap voting laws in Victoria that mean minor party candidates can be elected on a fraction of the popular vote and see seats “for sale” under preference deals.

After a leaked video to the Herald Sun revealed Glenn Druery, the so-called preference whisperer, was working to deliver Labor a favourable upper house crossbench, the Premier said his chief of staff Lissie Ratcliff did have a discussion with Mr Druery in early 2019 but it was not about any deals.

Victorian Liberal Party leader Matthew Guy. Picture: Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

“Mr Druery was employed by (Derryn Hinch’s) party as a staffer,” he said. “I don’t know how long he worked for the Hinch party, but it was in that capacity that my office spoke with him. And I think the subject was about resources and how many staff the Hinch party would get.”

Mr Andrews would not commit to review the voting laws.

“I am going to wait and see what the review of the conduct of the election office is, as well as the review into Australia’s toughest political donations laws, which will be conducted next year, as well,” he said.

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