Throughout the latter half of October, we’ve spoken with and heard from many members affected by flooding across various parts of our state.
Members who have lost their homes, property, livestock and more. Members whose communities have been devastated. Members who want to take disaster leave to help their neighbours.
Each and every story is heartbreaking.
We have been assisting these flood-affected members in a variety of ways, from linking them to local and government support services to offering ANMF financial grants and waiving membership fees for a period of time. We’ve also been in communication with all employers in impacted areas to advocate for paid leave for affected members.
Without committed and immediate action on climate change, we can expect more frequent and severe natural disasters such as flooding and bush fires. This will continue to impact members personally, and professionally – natural disasters are also health disasters.
As we reported last month, the 2021 State of the Environment Report includes First Nations voices and traditional knowledge for the first time. Learning from and empowering Indigenous management of Country is among the report’s recommendations.
The Branch recognises the importance of learning from and working with First Nations members and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and has recently begun work on a reflective Reconciliation Action Plan.
Based on the core pillars of relationships, respect and opportunities, the plan’s aim will be to enable us to sustainably and strategically take meaningful action to advance reconciliation. We will report progress to members over the coming months.
State election
The state election is on Saturday 26 November. Pre-polling begins on Monday 14 November.
We asked the Government, Opposition and Greens to provide us with their healthcare commitments. The statements we received are included in the current issue of On the Record, unedited, exactly as we received them.
Please read them carefully before you vote. I encourage you to focus on the detail over the headlines: not just the funding commitments but the timeframes for implementation of those commitments, for example.
In the October edition of the Branch’s member magazine The Handover you’ll find information about what the Andrews Government committed to and what it has done over the last four years, including delivering on its 2018 election commitments to ANMF members. You can also now read a digital version.
It hasn’t been perfect – no government is – but the Andrews Government’s willingness to listen to and respond to nurses and midwives has set it apart from all other state and territory governments. In its first term as well as its second.
ANMF won’t tell you how to vote, but together with the Victorian Trades Hall Council we are encouraging members to put the Liberals last in the interests of the nursing, midwifery and personal care workforce and your patients.
Why? The Coalition’s long history of closing hospital beds, attempting to substitute nurses and midwives with assistants, and selling off public aged care speaks for itself.
For ANMF members, they have a terrible record at not keeping their election commitments. The last time they were in government, they attempted to substitute nurses and midwives with unregistered healthcare assistants – despite an election promise to keep ratios. Only the hard work of ANMF members risking everything prevented this from occurring.
The Napthine/Baillieu Government included many members of the current Opposition, including Mr Matthew Guy, Mr David Davis and Ms Georgie Crozier.
We must have a government who will work with ANMF members to keep on improving our Victorian health system no matter what sector our members work in.
Pre-polling opens on Monday 14 November and election day is Saturday 26 November 2022. Find the polling booths in your electorate via https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/
Authorised by Lisa Fitzpatrick, Secretary, ANMF (Vic Branch), 535 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.
