Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Our New South Wales nurses and midwives are the backbone of our healthcare system, and yet, compared with their counterparts in other Australian states and territories, they are the lowest paid. This is leading to large numbers of our nurses and large numbers of our midwives leaving the state of New South Wales and pursuing healthcare roles in jurisdictions with better pay and conditions. This should not be happening in New South Wales. As a practising emergency doctor I continue to work shoulder to shoulder with these nurses and with these midwives, and I see firsthand the dedication, the care and the professionalism they exhibit in often very challenging situations.

Public sector nurses and midwives in New South Wales are calling for justified and necessary improvements to help rebuild our public health service. They are calling for better pay. They are calling for better conditions, including a 15 per cent pay rise. I have joined with our New South Wales nurses and midwives in their pursuit for better pay and conditions. The viability of our health system depends on it. I will continue to support our New South Wales nurses and midwives' campaign for better pay and conditions because it is the right thing to do.

See this speech in context