Victorian Labor to end 'war on paramedics'

Labor has launched its election campaign for next month's Victorian poll promising to end the "war on paramedics" and get the health system working again.

Victoria paramedic

(AAP)

Victorian Labor has launched its campaign to win votes five weeks out from the state poll, with the support of a father whose son died waiting for an ambulance.

Steve Gibbs gave Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews his backing in front of the Labor party faithful gathered in Geelong on Sunday.

Mr Gibbs' son Matthew, 23, suffered a cardiac arrest and died in October last year after a 16 minute wait for an ambulance.

Mr Gibbs praised the paramedics who worked to save his son, who he described as a rock-solid Victorian who always paid his way but was let down in his time of absolute need.

Mr Andrews was a person of great character who had shown a great depth of compassion during every parent's worst nightmare, an emotional Mr Gibbs said.

Mr Andrews followed federal Labor leader Bill Shorten to the stage, where he praised Mr Shorten for standing up to a Coalition government that had invented a budget emergency and "cut, cut, cut again" approach.

The state opposition leader said he wouldn't let the Napthine government get away with that either.

After thanking Mr Gibbs, he promised that if elected on November 29, he'd end the "war on paramedics" and get the health system working again.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world