INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY 2023
Today in Parliament, Amanda's motion honouring nurses for International Nurses Day was objected to by the Liberals.
Amanda's motion is as below:
(1) That this House notes that:
(a) Friday 12 May is International Nurses Day, a day which celebrates the vital role and contributions of nurses to communities around the world,
(b) this year’s theme is “Our Nurses, Our Future”, which was selected by the International Council of Nurses to elevate the perception of nurses from invisible to invaluable in the eyes of policy makers, decisionmakers and the public, and
(c) last year the nurses and midwives of New South Wales took statewide, coordinated industrial action on four occasions to demand safe nurse-to-patient and midwife-to-patient ratios, as well as a significant number of local actions.
(2) That this House recognises the invaluable contributions of New South Wales nurses to the safety and wellbeing of our community on International Nurses Day.
(3) That this House notes that in November last year the Australia Institute published "The Cumulative Costs of Wage Caps for Essential Service Workers in NSW", which found that by the 2021-22 financial year the New South Wales public sector wage cap will have amounted to a cumulative loss of $80,000 in wages for an experienced nurse.
(4) That this House acknowledges the Government’s commitment to scrapping the public sector wage cap.
(5) That this House notes that the NSW Nurses and Midwives' Association, which represents over 72,000 nurses and midwives across New South Wales, is demanding:
(a) mandated shift-by-shift nurse to patient staffing ratios to improve patient safety and staff retention in emergency departments, intensive care units, multi-purpose services, maternity services, perioperative services, short stay wards, community and community mental health services, outpatient clinics, specialists, and wards currently under the Nursing Hours Per Patient Day system, and
(b) a pay rise of 10 per cent.
Amanda attempted to move this motion as formal business today, but unfortunately because of objection from the Coalition it was not passed.