Victorians in need are no closer to getting the help they deserve as Graham Ashton’s report into ESTA’s failures continues to gather dust on Daniel Andrews’ desk.
During a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee (PAEC) hearing today, Minister for Emergency Services, Jaclyn Symes, refused to provide a timeline on the release of the report, nor condemn the Premier or the Health Minister for failing to even read the report.
The government has known of critical issues within Triple-0 since 2016, yet the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) call-taking staff continues to fall across fire, ambulance and police in the 12 months to June 2021.
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Brad Battin, said the Andrews Labor Government keeps trying to spin its way out of its own mess.
“Every Victorian who is being let down by Labor’s Triple-0 crisis deserves straight answers, not more Labor spin.
“For the Premier and the Health Minister to have still not read the report is nothing other than a slap in the face to the families of the 18 Victorians who died waiting on hold.
“Labor simply cannot be trusted to fix the Triple-0 crisis it has caused. Only a change of Government will get Triple-0 working again.”
