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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 325 ..

By the way, you will find the text almost identical in most respects. It comes back to that fundamental question of industrial democracy. Should all the nurses be able to have a say on this offer or should they not? The reality, Mr Speaker, is that they ought to have a say. When they did have a say at the Calvary Hospital 83 per cent said, "Yes, that is a good offer. Thank you very much. We will take that," and they will be paid from December.

When asked about this matter last week, Mr Speaker, I indicated that we would have to bring this matter to a close on 19 March. Members would be aware, now that they have the draft budget, that we are considering the budget very carefully. If the nurses at Canberra Hospital and in Community Care do not want to accept this package, there is $5.8 million that I can think of very sensible ways to spend in health. Mr Stefaniak has already discussed with me a possibility in education. We would be interested in hearing what other members have to say, but $5.8 million is not something to be sneezed at in next year's budget. At the moment the offer remains there, but it will not be able to remain on the table after 19 March because we will have to look at what else we will do with the money.

MR STANHOPE: I beg your pardon for rising again, Mr Hird. Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. I thank the minister for his answer and for tabling the documents. I wonder whether the minister would be prepared to table any documentation-if there is any documentation-relevant to the negotiations with nurses and Community Care to complete the trifecta. Will the minister confirm that the Calvary deal was in fact accepted by nurses after a process of negotiation which was in fact facilitated by the union? Can he say how the offer to Canberra Hospital nurses addresses their intolerable staffing situation?

MR MOORE: Let me start with the last question first. I have to say that what you call the intolerable staffing situation-there are staffing problems in some speciality areas in the Canberra Hospital-is going to get much worse if the nurses do not accept this package. The reason I think it will get worse is because Calvary Hospital will be in a position to attract nurses and to take first choice of whatever nurses are available. That is not what I set out to do. I set out specifically to meet something that I was asked to do by the nurses federation from the time I became minister, and that was to try to get an equal set of pay and conditions across the ACT.

With regard to Community Care, my understanding is that the nurses federation is not prepared to deal with Community Care at this stage. I do not know if they have had any meetings but I will take that part of the question on notice and find that information.

Mr Stanhope, it seems to me that we have a perfectly reasonable offer on the table-the conditions that we have requested as a trade-off for a 12 per cent and sometimes 17 or 18 per cent increase in pay. The very specific answer to the question that Mr Stanhope has asked is that the package also includes significant bonuses in areas of need. The pressure on nurses at the Canberra Hospital is in areas such as the renal unit, intensive

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