TELL THE TRUTH TO QUEENSLAND’S NURSES, MR HOCKEY

Health Minister Stephen Robertson today challenged Federal Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey to tell the truth to the 25,000 nurses employed by Queensland Health.

Mr Robertson was responding to Mr Hockey’s full page weekend newspaper advertisements rejecting claims that nurses’ pay and conditions were under threat by the Australian Government’s Work Choices legislation.

“Mr Hockey justifies this claim on the basis that ‘Nurses pay and conditions in public hospitals is determined by State Governments”, Mr Robertson said.

“But what Mr Hockey hasn’t told Queensland’s nurses is that his Work Choices legislation can be imposed by the Howard Government through a new Australian Health Care Agreement that would take effect next year.”

“This is the back door way for the Howard Government to be able to cut the wages and conditions of nurses even though they are state government employees.

“As we have already seen them do in other sectors, the Federal Government withholds funding to the states until they are forced to agree to a Work Choices clause in any new funding agreement.

Mr Robertson said Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott had refused on a number of occasions to rule out imposing Work Choices on the states as a precondition of any new Australian Health Care Agreement.

“If Mr Hockey is really concerned about protecting the pay and conditions of Australia’s nurses all he has to do is rule out forcing a Work Choices clause in any new Australian Health Care Agreement – it’s as simple as that,” he said.

“Until we hear those words from Mr Hockey, Mr Abbott or the Prime Minister then all Mr Hockey has engaged in this weekend is an expensive and dishonest hoax on Australia’s nurses”, Mr Robertson said.

“I think our nurses deserve better than that.”
17 September,  2007
MEDIA: Joshua Cooney 3234 1185 or 0409 069 056