ADJOURNMENT

Dr WEBSTER (Mallee) (19:39): I rise tonight as both member for Mallee and shadow minister for regional health to pay tribute to three amazing doctors in my electorate. The first one I want to speak about is Don Hartley. Don has been seeking to retire for a number of years.

It happens in the regions. They try and retire, and I don't know. It just doesn't happen.

Don this year won the 2026 Victorian Rural Health Award for 50 years of medical service to Sunraysia. If there were more people in the House, I would ask for a round of applause. I think that is an incredible effort.

It's an amazing commitment to a local community. I've known Don for 48-plus of those years, and he has served enthusiastically, whether it was hospital work or GP work. He's a keen member of the Sunraysia community.

He also happened to be a neighbour of ours for a while. He recently did an interview with the local paper, and one of the things he said is, 'It's good to see new doctors come through, especially now with the new system where medical school is being run here, attracting more locals because they're more likely to stay.' We know that's true. 'Hear, hear' is all I can say.

The Murray-Darling Medical School was defined and implemented under the Nationals and the coalition, and it has been highly successful. We want to see it rolled out further into other regional centres so locals can stay local and close the pipeline from high school right through to the end of graduate-year medicine. It works, and we need to encourage it.

The second doctor I want to speak about is Dr Ken Mulligan, who has also announced his retirement after 28 years serving the people of Wycheproof. Our metro colleagues won't have a clue where Wycheproof is, but I can tell you it's straight down the Calder Highway from Mildura to Melbourne. That town has just over 600 people.

He has stayed there serving that community for 28 years. I think that that is really incredible. It's incredible service.

The final person that I want to speak to—and please indulge me, Speaker—is my husband, and I've left him last because I know I will cry. I always get emotional. He has been serving the Mildura like Don Hartley.

They have been colleagues. He has been serving for over 48 years now in Mildura, and he too has tried to retire several times. It hasn't worked.

He has been awarded Outstanding Contribution by Rural GP or Rural Generalist at the 2026 Victorian Rural Health Awards. Needless to say, I am very proud of him and very proud of his commitment. He is a doctor who has never charged anyone out of pocket ever.

He has always bulk-billed no matter how low those bulk-billing services were. I know his commitment to our community firsthand because I live with him, which is really good when we actually can be together. His hours have always been 10, 11 or 12 hours a day.

He's so committed to the health and wellbeing of the people of Mildura. He has now taken on aged care in his time when he was supposed to be retiring. He's taken on aged care, and he has over 80 patients in residential aged care across Mildura.

He fits that in in his spare time while working three days in the clinic. I want to commend him and commend other doctors who take on aged care. It is not easy.

It is not easy, because it is complex care. It is chronic care. No matter how much money you throw at it, it is short.

The paperwork that is now required, the compliance that is now required, just makes it so much harder that less GPs, not more, are actually prepared to step into that space. In terms of policy, we've got to change it. We have got to make aged care available for GPs to enthusiastically embrace that complex care.

To all three of those doctors, I say: congratulations and I'll be seeing you soon.