Video Transcript of Secretary's Introduction
Welcome to the online version of the annual report. This year we’ve included several short videos of the work which has been done by the department. These videos are a great way to show our personal view of the work that we do and how we support the Victorian community.
It’s been a tough year for the people of Victoria. The bushfires, heatwaves and swine flu presented many challenges. But the department and staff, all of you, rallied for each of those challenges admirably, doing what we do best – working with people and responding to their needs.
The bushfires included coordinated government health services, housing, financial support, case management – all of which were about Victorian families who were affected by the fires get back on their feet and move on with their lives.
The response to swine flu saw us activate the emergency coordination centre, and the dramatically increased demand on that call centre, to address enquiries from the public and health professionals was one of the key services we offered in the time of people’s great concern and uncertainty.
We continue to do incredibly important work in community services – child protection workers, disability services workers are out there every day working with some of the most vulnerable people in the state who are often not visible to the rest of the community.
Finally, some very big changes have happened recently with the creation of the new Department of Human Services and the new Department of Health. I’m incredibly privileged to be the new Secretary of the Department of Human Services to work with all of you as we continue to do some of the most valuable work for the Victorian community – working with people that need the sorts of services and capability we can provide.
Thank you to all of you for the work that you’ve done over the past year and that you you continue to do. I invite you to read the annual report. It’s truly a really wonderful reflection of the contribution you make to this state every day.