Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand with regard to the proposed closure of Reg Geary House by the Victorian state government. Reg Geary House is a high-care nursing home in Melton, within my electorate of Gorton.

On 25 October this year the staff and residents of Reg Geary House were notified that their workplace and home will close by 30 June next year. The residents and staff of this wonderful institution are, understandably, very distressed by this news.

In 2001 the then Victorian Minister for Health, Bronwyn Pike, announced $600,000 in funding to renovate Reg Geary House so that it met accreditation. That was the right decision for Melton and for the residents of Melbourne's west. I am very disappointed that the current Victorian state government is planning to close this important place.

Given the difficulty that many older residents have in finding a nursing home that is suitable to meet their needs and that the Victorian government is proposing to close a much-loved and valued nursing home in one of the fastest-growing parts of Victoria demonstrates a remarkably short-sighted approach to planning.

It is a sad and, may I say, a cruel day when a longstanding high-care nursing home such as Reg Geary is closed because a state government does not invest in the needs of older Australians.

I urge the Victorian Minister for Health and Ageing, Mr David Davis, to work with Western Health to find a way to ensure that Reg Geary House is kept open and is able to continue to assist older Melton residents who require the services of a high-care nursing home.

In conclusion, without a proper response by the Victorian government, it is a reprehensible act by them to cut the funds which, in effect, would lead to kicking to the kerb, if you like, some of the most vulnerable people in the Melton community just to save a few dollars. I am highly concerned that the Victorian government is not providing sufficient community health infrastructure for Melton and Melbourne's booming western suburbs. I therefore urge Minister Davis to do everything he can to ensure that Reg Geary House is able to continue the great service that it provides to the Melton community.