STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Dr REID (Robertson) (13:47): As a member of parliament and a practising emergency doctor, I have the privilege of seeing our healthcare system from two perspectives: where policy is made and where its consequences are felt. Today I'm proud to acknowledge the establishment of the Parliamentary Friends of Emergency Medicine and Care, which I co-chair alongside the member for Kooyong.

This bipartisan initiative provides a vital bridge between clinical expertise and national policymaking, ensuring the voices of frontline clinicians are heard in this parliament. I particularly welcome the emergency doctors, nurses and representatives of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine visiting parliament this week. Their visit coincides with the launch of the 2026 report State of emergency: Australia's ageing population.

The report examines mounting pressures on emergency departments, particularly access block, prolonged hospital stays and the growing complexity of caring for older Australians. There were a record 8.9 million presentations to nearly 300 emergency departments across Australia, with over 53,000 older Australians spending longer than 24 hours in ED before being admitted to an inpatient bed.

Behind every statistic is a patient, a family and a clinician doing their utmost under extraordinary pressure. As someone who's continuing to work in emergency, I know these challenges firsthand. Emergency departments are the safety net of our healthcare system, but a safety net cannot function when the system surrounding it is under strain, because timely, dignified emergency care must never be a privilege.