CONGRATULATIONS to the entire team at Swan Hill District Health on the announcement that they are to receive funding for a new Emergency Department.
As the local regional health service, Bendigo Health works closely with Swan Hill District Health to provide excellent care for the community, and we share the vision of an integrated health system where patients get the best care in the most appropriate location.
Having increased capacity in Swan Hill is great for the community and we welcome the state government investment in rural health services.
The improved emergency department will mean less people having to be transferred to Bendigo or Melbourne hospitals, having more local people treated closer to home by Swan Hill’s dedicated staff.
The people of Swan Hill and surrounding districts should be very proud of their local health service.
Please be reassured we are also here to care for you when the care you need is not available in Swan Hill, but hopefully you do not have to see us!
Bob Cameron, Bendigo Health Board Chair
Peter Faulkner, Bendigo Health CEO
Small business pays for shambles
HUNDREDS and thousands of small businesses that were caught up in the Labor government’s snap five-day lockdown are completely ineligible for any support.
But while Daniel Andrews won’t support small business, he’s spent more than $700,000 of taxpayers’ money buying himself likes on Facebook.
There are 300 small business owners scrambling to repay tens of thousands of dollars they don’t have after an Andrews government stuff-up saw them paid for grants the government now says they weren’t eligible for.
Among them is a cooking school in Mirboo North that owes $20,000 for the Labor government’s own mistake.
Where will small businesses that are already under so much strain seek financial help find this money?
Too many Victorians are already up against the wall after three lockdowns, while the threat of more continues to decimate business confidence.
It’s a stark contrast to New South Wales, where good contact tracing and a “last resort” approach to lockdowns has seen the state stay open for business.
Small business is what drives this economy. It’s what creates jobs.
But until the Andrews government can get the basics right, it’s only a matter of time before Labor’s lockdowns deliver the knockout punch.
Peter Walsh Leader of The Nationals
