McCurdy fights for Yarrawonga child denied travel assistance

The Nationals’ Member for Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy, has condemned the Allan Labor Government for abandoning vulnerable families through cruel decisions and unacceptable delays in essential support programs.

Mr McCurdy raised the case in Parliament last week of a Yarrawonga family who, after eight years of assistance under the Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme (VPTAS), has suddenly been cut off.

“This young girl was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of five and has endured years of chemotherapy at both Albury Cancer Centre and in Melbourne,” Mr McCurdy said.

“Her single mum, raising two other children, has done everything possible to provide care.

Yet now, because some faceless bureaucrat has decided the trip from Yarrawonga to Albury is 97.7 kilometres instead of 100, this family has been told they no longer qualify for support. For eight years they were reimbursed, and to strip that away during the most difficult time of their lives is utterly heartless.”

“The Murray Valley Highway around Rutherglen is often closed for maintenance. The only reliable route to Albury is via New South Wales, 118 kilometres. This decision ignores the reality of life in north-east Victoria and shows no compassion for a family already under immense strain,” he said.

“Programs such as VPTAS are designed to ease the burden of travel for specialist medical care, but instead their failures are piling further pressure on families already struggling through the cost-of-living crisis,” Mr McCurdy said.

“No family should have to carry the extra stress of fighting for reimbursements when they are already facing serious medical challenges. These schemes are meant to ease the burden in times of need, yet right now people are being let down by a Government that isn’t doing its job,” he said.

Labor can’t manage VPTAS, and regional Victorians are paying the price.