AFTER 12 years as a Member for Macedon, and stints first as Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development and latest as Health Minister, Mary-Anne Thomas has decided it’s now time to pursue her other two heart-wellbeing passions – devote more time to her family and travel around Australia and overseas.
Ms Thomas, 63, of Kyneton, however, makes it clear that she is retiring from politics, but she’s not all into smelling the roses just yet.
“Certainly not (retiring) from working, but I won’t be working seven days a week in the future,” Ms Thomas said in an interview with the Review. “My plan is to have a bit more of a work-life balance.”
Last week, Ms Thomas was among the three Victorian ministers who announced they would retire and not contest the November state election.
Ms Thomas is busy “representing the people of Macedon until the state election and our party, Labor party, will go through the process of choosing the candidate in that election, and part of my job will be making sure I introduce them to all our community members, sporting clubs, and community organisations. Yes, it’s really important that people know that me and my office are still on deck on duty, and we’ll continue to serve the people of Macedon.
“And after that, I really don’t know. Obviously, I want to keep working. I have loved the health portfolio, so, who knows, there might be some opportunities there. And I want to travel and spend a little bit more time with my family.
“I would like to say that I will be taking some time out to care for those that have always cared for me.
“I have also got some plans to do some walks in Australia, kicking off with a Three Capes walk in Tasmania in December.”
In the meantime, she said there is always work to be done. “And that will be for the next Member for Macedon and for the next Health Minister (Harriet Shing, who took the reins last week). But only Labor governments are committed to driving our state forward and continuing to invest in the services and the infrastructure that our state needs. And that is in contrast to the Liberals, whose only plan is to cut those services, and stop building the infrastructure that we need.”
Asked whether she has decided to leave with writing on the wall in the face of poor opinion polls for Labor and Premier Jacinta Allan’s popularity at a low, Ms Thomas, a teacher before entering politics, said: “I absolutely reject that. I think that come November, Victorians will have a clear choice, and that is a choice between an Allan Labor Government that has a clear plan for the future and new solutions for some of the challenges that Victorians are experiencing versus Jess Wilson and the Liberals, who are hopelessly divided, are fighting with each other and only have a plan to cut services and infrastructure.”
Ms Thomas said she was not asked to leave. “It was my own decision.”
On her achievements as Health Minister, Ms Thomas said: “In the time that I have been minister, the funding for our health services has increased. I have introduced reforms so that our health services work better and more closely together. We have the vision for the state where Victorians can receive more of the care that they need close to home.”
And this includes through innovations like the virtual emergency department and the virtual hospital, she said.
“Obviously, I became Minister for Health during COVID. And the sign of or an indicator of success is whether the health system is in better shape when you leave than when you start and it definitely is on a whole range of measures, and that has been endorsed by the Productivity Commission. And indeed, by the AMA on their report on hospital services.
“What we have done, of course, is implement a number of changes to make sure that more care is available close to home. And that includes the virtual emergency department, our urgent care clinics, 20 women’s clinics established right around Victoria, including in Kyneton. And, of course, the Chemist Care Now program. It means more Victorians are able to get the treatment that they need for everyday health conditions for free,
About regional health services, including Seymour Health, facing challenges due to a shortfall in funding, and ambulance response times failing to meet target times, Ms Thomas said: “Our paramedics have been facing increased demand, but despite this, we are continuing to see ambulance response times heading in the right direction. And that’s because of reforms and investments that our government has made, including more than $58 million in the last budget on initiatives that we know work to help clear ambulances from emergency departments and get them back on the road responding to the people that need them.”
About her major achievements for the Macedon Ranges, Ms Thomas lists:
$20 million investment each for Kyneton High School and Gisborne Secondary College
$3.2 million funding for Romsey Primary School, including STEAM Centre
Funding for Romsey Skate Park
$14.8 million funding from the State Government for the $44.5 million Macedon Ranges Regional Sports Precinct, which includes funding from the Federal Government and Macedon Ranges Council.