Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday in question time the Minister for Health and Ageing on behalf of the Howard government attacked our hard-working nurses. It was a disgraceful, shameful attack in which he falsely claimed that nurses were ‘indoctrinating patients and were responsible for lengthening waiting lists in NSW because they were all at ACTU indoctrination lessons’. What a lowly, pathetic attack that was. Nurses in my electorate of Richmond—who are at this minute hard at work saving lives and caring for our ill and elderly—are asking themselves, ‘Why do I get attacked by the Howard government for doing my job and working hard?’ The health minister has not even offered an apology. What an incredible display of arrogance! The health minister obviously has no idea how important nurses are to the community. This is just another indication of how the Howard government has lost touch with working families.

In light of his comments yesterday I demand that the health minister come to Richmond and apologise to our local nurses. I know how upset they are by his comments. This vicious attack by the health minister comes amidst well-founded fears that this government will force nurses onto AWAs. I know that the Australian Nursing Federation is seeking a guarantee from this government that health funding in the 2008 Australian healthcare agreements will not force nurses onto Australian workplace agreements. This government, far from giving that guarantee, has engaged a consultant to model the economic impact of moving more Australian workers onto AWAs so, indeed, the nurses definitely have a right to be very concerned.

Nurses are already suffering from this government’s extreme industrial relations legislation. Jill Iliffe, the federal Secretary of the Australian Nursing Federation states on the ANF website:

By far the biggest threat to nurses’ capacity to provide ongoing quality nursing care to the Australian community is the WorkChoices legislation.

What are the implications of this attack we have seen on nurses on other service areas? Who is going to be next? Will it be our teachers or our emergency service personnel such as firefighters and police officers? Will they be the next to lose their pay and conditions? We have already seen thousands adversely affected across a whole range of industries. Who will be next? Who is in the firing line? Many locals in my area are very concerned that the Prime Minster’s industrial relations acts will now fall on our local nurses, teachers, firefighters and police officers. Just think for a minute what this would mean for the police service, for example. As a former police officer I know first-hand the challenges involved with police work. It is absolutely shameful that this government could potentially now be seeking to remove their working conditions. It is the same with all emergency service personnel. It proves yet again how out of touch and arrogant this government is.

It is the same situation with nurses. Let us look at nurses and the job they do. Their job is to provide health care, a job they do extremely well often under difficult and challenging circumstances. How is this government rewarding them for all their hard work? What are they doing? They are attacking them in parliament and now taking away their working conditions. Our nurses need to spend their time caring for patients. That is what their job is; that is what nurses do—they care for patients. Now they are living in fear of the Prime Minister’s industrial relations acts falling on them and, as I said: who will be next?

What is next from this government when it comes to industrial relations? In the last election the government did not tell the Australian people at all about their plans for Work Choices. Nothing was said about it at all. Of course they will not be telling us what they have in store next for workers, will they, and that is certainly of huge concern to many locals in my electorate of Richmond. What is going to happen next? What other plans have they got up their sleeves? Every time this question has been put to the Prime Minister and he has been asked about it he tends to use those tricky words to weasel out of answering it. There are just more tricky words without an actual direct answer.

Our nurses did not deserve the vicious attack on them made by the health minister yesterday. Our nurses deserve to be treated properly and respected by our entire community—individuals and community groups—and by this government. Our nurses also deserve to be appropriately paid for the great work they perform. Any attempt by this government to force nurses onto AWAs is unacceptable. It is not good for our nurses; it is not good for our hospitals and aged-care facilities; and it is not good for our community. And I say again, in light of the health minister’s comments, I call upon him to come to Richmond personally and apologise to all our local nurses who are indeed very distressed by the comments that he made yesterday. His comments were shameful and disgusting and he needs to come out and apologise immediately.