Stagger

photograph michelle slater

Hine will run for Greens in state election

By MICHELLE SLATER

A COMMUNITY health academic has been chosen as the Greens candidate to contest the seat of Morwell in the November state election. Rochelle Hine will represent the Greens after moving to Gippsland two years ago to take up a research and lecturing position at Monash Rural Health. Dr Hine is a first-time candidate and joined the party in 2020 but had been voting for the Greens “for decades”. The Greens attracted 3.64 per cent in Morwell in the 2018 state election. “Greens policies fit my values around humanity and caring for the Earth. I think the Greens are the only party that can hold Labor and Liberal to account,” Dr Hine said. “The Greens don’t take donations from fossil fuel companies or developers, so this leaves them free to make strong, evidence-based policies.” The Warragul local grew up in King Lake but moved to Gippsland from the small south-west Victorian community of Kirkstall. She said her areas of speciality were rural mental health, community health funding, primary care, and rural workforce retention. Dr Hine will be campaigning on tackling climate change, increasing living costs, housing affordability and homelessness, clear-felling native forests and justice for First Nations peoples. “I have a strong interest in social justice and equity. The gulf between the rich and poor is growing, the system is skewed to disadvantage rural people and those who are not wealthy,” she said. “We need an ecological, sustainable transition from fossil fuel reliance that engages the whole community and meets the needs of everybody to sustain people into new livelihoods.” Dr Hine said she understood Morwell had high levels of anxiety about coal closures. “Coal-fired power stations are really old and past their use-by dates; this is not the Greens’ doing. The Greens have a robust plan for this transition,” she said. “The Greens are transparent about these policies and will make sure we have conversations about what comes next to make sure no one is disadvantaged. “If people looked at the Greens policies, they’d be pleasantly surprised how evidence-based and how supportive of local communities they are.”

Health help extended

GIPPSLAND Primary Health Network’s successful Vaccine Helpers program has been extended in Latrobe City and South Gippsland Shire. The program has also been expanded from helping people access their electronic vaccination certificates to also providing assistance in accessing My Health Record. Latrobe City staff will assist their community through a series of workshops, one-on-one sessions and accessible guidelines at all four library branches, three leisure centres and the council headquarters reception area. In South Gippsland, there will be drop-in sessions at community houses and Centrelink, pop-up assistance at residential aged care facilities, other council facilities and Men’s Sheds. Gippsland PHN chief executive, Amanda Proposch, said the initial program had assisted 351 people between November 2021 and April 2022 with positive feedback across all locations. “The outcomes have been positive with people appreciating that personal help in navigating technology to access important health information,” Ms Proposch said “This is often not as easy as it sounds, especially for people who are not familiar with, or have access to, technology. This program has helped them overcome barriers to accessing important government services. “We are very pleased that many people in the community are taking advantage of this assistance and hope that this continues through expanding opportunities for access.”

New paramedics bound for Gippsland, nine for the Valley

RECRUITMENT is now underway for 23 new paramedics in Gippsland. Nine will be based in the Latrobe Valley. Creation of new ‘paramedic practitioner’ roles will also help boost numbers for the Latrobe Valley’s ambulance service. The state government said the new appointments were clear evidence it was listening to frontline medical workers. “As an emergency doctor, I am excited by this announcement,” said Australian Labor Party candidate for Morwell, Kate Maxfield. “This is game-changing news for healthcare in the Latrobe Valley,” she said. “The government’s ‘paramedic practitioner’ role is an Australian first, treating sick and injured patients quickly while easing pressure at our busy emergency departments.” Paramedic practitioners won’t be servicing patients until 2026, as the new role demands two years’ training, but the government will grant full scholarships to current paramedics so they can rapidly upskill. It will spend $20 million on getting the new practitioners into service, so that pressure on the ambulance service can be eased. With advanced clinical training, the new paramedic practitioners will be able to assess, diagnose and treat patients in the field, and take pressure off emergency departments. The rollout will begin in rural and regional Victoria, where paramedic practitioners will take on a new role beyond emergency response – delivering essential care in the community. This year the government appointed 23 paramedics to service Gippsland and 157 across the state. Regional Development Minister and Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, said, “when the Liberal and Nationals were in power, they cut health funding, closed Latrobe Valley hospitals and went to war with Victoria’s dedicated healthcare workers”. “Labor will continue to take care of our healthcare workers to deliver the best services when you need it most,” Ms Shing said.

Regional Development Minister Harriet Shing and Morwell Labor candidate Kate Maxfield.

photo: submitted.