Jess Wilson has a good idea to fix elective surgery. Then things go pear-shaped

October 15, 2026 — 5:00am

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One of the best ideas so far in this state election campaign is the Coalition’s proposal for people waiting months and in some cases, years for elective surgery to be able to have procedures done on the public tab in private hospitals.

Labor’s argument that this would “Americanise” Victoria’s health system suggests two things. The first is we should be grateful for the rude health of government MPs who clearly, aren’t hobbling around on degenerative knees waiting for a replacement. The second is they should binge-watch The Pitt to better understand the reality of US hospitals.

There is nothing ideological about wanting people who need urgent surgery to get it sooner. If it is more cost-effective to make use of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses already employed by the private health system to take on some cases from slammed public hospitals, what exactly is the problem?

I follow the argument that public money should be spent on public hospitals but it is easier to be a policy purist when you are talking about someone else’s hernia. If it was your mum urgently needing a gastroscopy, you’d swallow any objections about her getting it in a private hospital bed.

Having given Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier their due for borrowing a good policy from the Queensland government, let’s also be frank about the too-cute-by-half........

© The Age