News

| September 06, 2024

Bush nursing centres face uncertain time

The Nationals’ Member for Lowan, Emma Kealy, has called on the Allan Labor Government to provide important financial support to our rural bush nursing centres.

Centres have seen their budgets cut by 10 per cent, and some are being told that the government expects them to cover the government’s recently-announced nursing staff wage increases of 28.4 per cent between now and 2027.

Ms Kealy, also the Deputy Leader of The Nationals, has called on the government to support bush nursing centres across the Lowan electorate in Balmoral, Harrow, Dartmoor and Lake Bolac.

“There is absolutely no question that our hard-working nurses deserve a pay rise, but it cannot be implemented without financial support provided to bush nursing centres to meet these increased costs,” she said.

“Nurses do an amazing job, and our bush nurses have an extensively dynamic skill set to adapt to the range of care needed in rural settings.

“However, it is completely unfair that our remote care centres have not only had a funding cut, but the minister remains silent on government support for these wage increases.

"The Allan Labor Government is playing a dangerous game with rural and regional critical health services, and we want to see no change in employment, outreach capacity or service provision.

“The great fear is that without the capacity to pay, nurse hours will be reduced, and that is not an acceptable outcome.

“The reality is that the Labor government cannot manage money and cannot manage our health system, and our communities are paying the price.”