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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 324 ..

Mr Stanhope: At Canberra, not at Calvary.

MR SPEAKER: I warn you, Mr Stanhope.

MR MOORE: If you really want to know what the majority of nurses think you should let it go to a ballot.

Mr Berry: No, you ask the union.

MR MOORE: Mr Berry interjects, "No, ask the union." We know that not all nurses belong to the union. That upsets Mr Berry. I know that. For all my working life prior to coming into the Assembly I was a member of a union. It did very well by me and I was happy to be a member. In this case the situation is that the union is simply blocking a ballot-a fair electoral opportunity for nurses to have a say about an excellent package.

This would have to be one of the strangest situations in industrial history in Australia. In the middle of an EBA-and this part is strange because we determined to do it-we made an offer. That is a very unusual move. We said, "We make an offer and here it is. The government provides the funds. We will allow you to negotiate in the proper industrial way with the Canberra Hospital or we will allow you to negotiate with the Calvary Hospital." Now, if those hospitals want to put in some extra money out of their own resources and want to do some trade-offs in addition to that, that is up to them. I don't mind that.

Mr Berry: It's not my fault.

MR MOORE: But there are certain things that we want. It is my fault, Mr Berry. I was the one who initiated this. I personally initiated this approach and I am particularly keen on it. Why did I do it? Because I wanted to see the highest paid nurses in Canberra. What I am really disappointed about is that we have a union that thinks that fighting and politics are more important than getting the best possible pay and conditions in Australia for its nurses. That is the disappointing thing.

Both hospitals, in a voluntary agreement between the employer and each employee, have access to shifts of between five to 10 hours in length. That is available in both hospitals. For both hospitals there are voluntary shifts of 11 or 12 hours on additional conditions, that is, the agreement of all of Calvary and in the case of the Canberra Hospital, as a compromise for the union, the majority of the Canberra Hospital staff in the unit. This is subject to five additional administrative arrangements being put in place at the Canberra Hospital. In both hospitals there will be no use of split shifts. At the Canberra Hospital there will be a facility for voluntary shifts of three to five hours. At Calvary there also will be the facility for voluntary shifts of three to five hours, but this requires union agreement as well. At the Canberra Hospital there will be a voluntary facility by agreement between the employer and an employee for make-up time transfer between different shifts.

Mr Speaker, I am happy to table copies of the agreement with Calvary and the proposed agreement with the Canberra Hospital. I will table those now to answer Mr Stanhope's question specifically. I present the following papers:

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