Australia’s nurses send a message to the G20
Michael Whaites, Nurse Uncut
While the federal Government is threatening to raise the GST and embarking on the privatisation of public health services, G20 leaders are meeting in Brisbane. They are all saying the same thing: the path to growth is austerity and privatisation – but these are actually the ingredients for further inequality in our society.
The (NSWNMA) and Queensland Nurses Union (QNU), together representing over 110,000 members, are fighting for a Robin Hood tax to support universal healthcare in Australia. Collectively, we have raised concerns about health funding cuts, the privatisation of public hospitals and services, coupled with the dismantling of Medicare and the intrusion of private health insurers into medical decision-making.
The NSWNMA’s roadshow travelled more than 1500 kilometres over 10 days to get to the G20 from its starting point in Wollongong, generating discussion about the merits of a Robin Hood tax in communities along the way.
Brett Holmes, General Secretary of the NSWNMA, said that rather than increasing the GST, which would further hurt low and middle income earners, the federal government needs to take tax reform seriously.
“The Prime Minister called for a measured debate on tax reform and we’ve responded to this by raising awareness of how a Robin Hood tax would stop our public health services from shifting further down the track of a two-tier, Americanised health system.”
Coral Levett, NSWNMA President, said: “As nurses and midwives, we call on all G20 leaders and government representatives to put patient safety and quality of care at the forefront, as a basic human right.”
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, Community and Public Sector Union, Australian Services Union, the US-based National Nurses United, the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Global Nurses United and Public Services International joined us along the way.
Linda Silas of Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, Kenn Zinn of Global Nurses United/National Nurses United (US), Coral Levett of ANMF, Deborah Burger of NNU, Beth Mohl of QNU, Brett Holmes of NSWNMA, Abdul Rafiu Alani Adeniji of Nigerian Nurses Union and Daniel Bertossa of Public Services International.
The tour culminated in a forum in Brisbane which explored the impact of privatisation on healthcare and the importance of a publicly-owned universal healthcare system. We heard from healthcare workers in Liberia, Nigeria, the US and Australia, who contrasted abilities to respond to disease outbreaks such as Ebola. The forum concluded that the G20 needs to make the right decisions for the health of our communities, including tax justice and an end to austerity measures and privatisations.
