Victorian Premier Ben Carroll hit the road on Sunday morning aboard Labor's campaign bus for the first official day of electioneering ahead of the November 28 state poll.Â
The freshly-wrapped red bus pulled into University Hospital Geelong following a drive through steady rain from Melbourne.
Mr Carroll joked with reporters about the vehicle's fuel being paid for, a reference to his recent, accidental failure to pay at a petrol station before he was alerted by police.
He greeted nurses and staff at the regional hospital, before announcing a pledge to slash wait times in emergency departments across the state by up to 20 per cent if Labor was re-elected.
The $1.5 billion funding commitment would be split between five Melbourne hospitals and a further seven in regional areas.
The money would also boost in-patient services at select hospitals and support the recruitment of more than 1500 extra health workers, half of them nurses.
"There's nothing more important to Victorians than our healthcare system and investing in public health is what Labor does," the premier said.
The move confirms health services as another battleground in the state election as Labor aims to secure a historic fourth straight term.
Mr Carroll revived his claim that Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, whose coalition leads the polls, would seek to "Americanise" the system.
His comments were a reference to an opposition plan to fund 25,000 extra elective surgeries through private hospitals to relieve pressure on public facilities.
The coalition made almost $100 million in election pledges in October to shorten emergency department wait times and reduce ambulance ramping.
Ms Wilson has committed to 10 new or expanded patient transit lounges in hospitals to divert patients medically ready to leave.
About 30 per cent of Victorians who present to emergency departments are not seen within the recommended time, the latest quarterly statistics from the state's health department show.
Asked what Labor would do to speed up patient outflows, Health Minister Ingrid Stitt stressed the $1.5 billion commitment would boost capacity upon admission.
But opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the pledge could not be trusted, citing workforce shortages and challenges placing graduate nurses in roles.
"Only our Liberal and Nationals team has a plan to deliver better patient outcomes and the world-class healthcare Victorians deserve," she said in a statement.
Mr Carroll also used his media stop on Sunday to cite reports in The Age newspaper that a Liberal candidate had been recorded encouraging a voter to support One Nation in the upper house.
It opened another line of attack for the premier, who previously warned a vote for the opposition was a vote for a One Nation coalition, despite Ms Wilson previously ruling one out.
Five weeks out from the election, Labor continues to trail the coalition in the polls.
Its primary vote remains steady at 25 per cent, according to the latest Resolve Political Monitor conducted in October and published by Nine newspapers.
Primary support for the coalition pushed up one point to 28 per cent.
One Nation was steady at 23 per cent, while support for the Greens was at 15 per cent.
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