QNU: Secretary Gay Hawksworth retires tomorrow - Assistant secretary Beth Mohle is the new secretary
Published: 31 March 2011
Gay Hawksworth, the secretary of Queensland’s second largest union, the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU), will retire tomorrow, 1 April, after 16 years in the job and nearly 30 years at the QNU.
She will be succeeded as secretary by the current assistant secretary, Ms Beth Mohle. The new assistant secretary is one of the QNU’s current industrial officers, Mr Des Elder.
The QNU is now Queensland’s second largest union with more than 44,000 members in public and private hospitals, aged care facilities, community health services and a range of other healthcare settings, including school health services, GP clinics and prison health services. Its members include registered nurses, enrolled nurses and assistants in nursing.
The 64-year-old Ms Hawksworth is a registered nurse and midwife.
She started at the QNU when it was founded, as part of the reform of nursing unionism in Queensland, in 1982. Prior to joining the QNU staff she was a charge nurse in the Royal Brisbane Hospital’s coronary care unit and a strong workplace union activist.
During her time at the QNU Ms Hawksworth also served as a vice-president of the Queensland Council of Unions.
She is married to Peter.
Ms Hawksworth said she was sad to be leaving the QNU after nearly 30 years of working for nurses and working people in general, but was also looking forward to retirement.
“Nursing is fulfilling, but exhausting work and so is union work. The day-to-day membership and administrative work is often interrupted by moments of high drama during big campaigns, crises and political events.
“Here in Queensland, and also nationally, we have run some big campaigns over the last 25 to 30 years to improve the working life of nurses and maintain high quality health and aged care services.
“Our big public hospital and community health services campaigns are something I am especially proud of. The public hospital and health system is very important to the Queensland people and keeping it ‘fit and healthy’ is essential to the wellbeing of every Queenslander.
“Despite various problems, which get media and political coverage from time to time, it is one of the best health systems in the world. The QNU’s campaigns are about keeping it that way. Nurses are the largest part of the clinical workforce, so initiatives that improve their working and professional lives improve the hospital and health system as a whole.
“The same applies in other sectors and it is a shame that, in recent years, there has been an undervaluing of nursing in aged care, by both governments and various employers. I know that the QNU’s new leadership team, Beth Mohle and Des Elder, will continue working to reverse this situation, so all Australians can be assured of quality aged care services in the future.
“Nursing itself is also now expanding its scope, with whole new areas of practice opening up. These include nurse practitioners, the expansion of primary care services and the placement of nurses in schools. This is a logical step for a profession that has so much to offer and has devoted so many resources, over the last 30 years, to improving its educational and training opportunities and its community profile.
“I wish Beth and Des every success as they continue to deal with these issues and developments. I know the QNU is in good hands.
“Finally, I would like to thank all the staff, officials and members of the QNU for their support of and commitment to nursing and unionism. I would like to thank the other nursing organisations and other unions for their support of our efforts and campaigns over the years.
“I would also like to thank all the politicians, employers, media representatives and a whole range of other people too numerous to mention, with whom I have interacted during my time at the QNU. At times we have been on different sides of the various debates and campaigns, but in the end I believe most are working for what they see as the best outcome during these times. That is what makes our democracy great. It has been a privilege to be part of it,” Ms Hawksworth said.
Beth Mohle RN – new secretary
The incoming secretary, Ms Beth Mohle, started as a QNU organiser in 1991 and then held various other positions at the QNU until becoming assistant secretary in 2007
The 52-year-old Ms Mohle is a registered nurse who trained, and then worked, as an RN at the Royal Brisbane Hospital prior to joining the QNU. She now also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Griffith University and a Graduate Certificate of Health Economics from Monash University.
In 2001 she was appointed to the board of one of Australia’s largest industry superannuation funds, the Health Employees Superannuation Trust Australia (HESTA).
She is married to Bob Bunnett.
Ms Mohle said Gay Hawksworth is one of the great Australian union leaders of the last 30 years, presiding over strong union growth and strong outcomes for nurses during her 16 years as QNU secretary.
“When Gay started at the QNU in 1982 we had 12,000 members. When she became secretary in 1995 we had 24,000 members. We now have a massive 44,000 members and have grown into the second largest union in Queensland. That is an extraordinary achievement during a time of much discussion about the general decline in union membership.
“Queensland hospital nurses are now also amongst the best paid in Australia – another tribute to Gay’s leadership and the many campaigns she has presided over.
“Right to the very last she is also working on fixing the pay and staffing problems that have emerged in aged care since the late 1990s when the Howard Government deregulated aged care funding. These are just a couple of the many areas Gay has worked hard on to improve the working lives of Queensland nurses.
“On behalf of all QNU staff and members I thank Gay for her many years of dedicated service, her careful guidance of the union and wish her and Peter all the best in her retirement.
“My new assistant secretary, Des Elder, and I will work hard to build on Gay’s many achievements for Queensland nurses.
“Gay has rightly identified aged care as an area that still needs attention and the QNU’s new leadership team knows this is a high priority. Staffing levels and quality care in our public and private hospitals are also a high priority, as is securing and maintaining decent pay and conditions in the array of new nursing fields that are opening up as the health system, and the way we deliver nursing and other health care, undergoes substantial reform.
Des Elder RN – new assistant secretary
The QNU’s incoming assistant secretary is Mr Des Elder, who, like Ms Mohle, also started at the QNU as an organiser in 1991.
He joined the Royal Australian Nursing Federation, prior to the QNU’s formation in 1982, in 1977 when he started his registered nurse training at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital. He went on to get endorsement as a mental health nurse and during the 1980s worked at the Wolston Park Hospital and Greenslopes Repatriation General Hospital, before joining the QNU staff. He worked for many years as an organiser before becoming an industrial officer in 2004.
The 55-year-old Mr Elder is married to Chris Jensen.
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