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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (25 August) . . Page.. 2412 ..
MR OSBORNE: Thank you, Chief Minister. I recall very soon afterwards the Health Minister positively crowing because a section of the motion calling on him to stand aside from all dealings with the hospital was removed. The next day, Mr Moore said:
I am very pleased that the indication from this Assembly yesterday, after a long debate, was that I need to keep my hand strongly on the tiller.
Mr Berry then said:
No, it was not.
Mr Stanhope said:
That is a very artful interpretation.
Mr Moore said:
Labor may forget that this Assembly removed from the motion they put out that I was not to meddle. I have to keep a strong hand on it.
I thought we should remind the Health Minister of his own words of not too long ago. I have moved this motion within the context of a dispute between the nurses and the hospital and the Government dating back to at least June of last year, about 15 months ago. During the ensuing time several wards of the Canberra Hospital have closed and nearly 150 hospital beds and about the same number of nursing positions have gone, apparently for good.
In October last year the Government said that it would not rule out selling the hospital and then in a letter to staff just a few days before Christmas implied that it could privatise if the proposed management framework agreement was not accepted. I even recall at the time having conversations with people in the Government who were adamant that the deal that was put to the nurses would be accepted. From memory, it was resoundingly defeated.
I could count at least five times that industrial action has been taken by the nurses out of frustration and three times that both sides have been in front of the Industrial Relations Commission. On all those occasions it appears the nurses won. The Minister returns. I have noticed from his comments in the Canberra Times this morning that he seems to think this motion is an endorsement of the style of negotiation which his department has been using to date. Nothing could be further from the truth. It appears that hospital management are willing to come to the table only after the industrial action that the nurses have undertaken has stopped, and the nurses are not prepared to stop the industrial action until the hospital begins serious negotiations.
In moving this motion today I have not laid before the Assembly a course of action beyond getting the right people from both sides of this dispute together in order to work out a suitable wage and workplace agreement. I am confident that if both sides approach a genuine negotiation in good faith then a suitable agreement will be made, and one we
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