A nursing and midwifery voice in health policy

Published: 13 August 2010

At our Annual Conference last month John Menadue provided a challenging presentation to delegates on Australian health reform. He threw down a challenge to us—nurses and midwives must collectively step up and advocate on behalf of community needs in health reform processes. This is especially critical given the scope of planned reform of health and aged care services and the likely short timeframe for these changes. We need to be prepared and organised to capitalise on the opportunities and diminish the risks that such significant change presents.

His presentation underscored the important role that the QNU and ANF play in wider health and aged care policy debate, a debate that comes into sharp focus during election campaigns.

This edition of tqn provides an important overview of key policy priority areas for the upcoming federal election. We have also written to candidates in key marginal seats in Queensland to ask them specifically about how their parties will address our key aged care policy objectives and have provided the responses to members in these electorates and on our website.

The QNU dedicates significant resources to influence the development of public policy that shapes the lives of our members and the broader Australian community. Our mission is a broad one—to promote and defend the industrial, professional, social, political and democratic values and interests of members. These values and interests are defined by membership through our Union’s democratic structures—our policy-making Annual Conference and directly-elected Council.

Every opportunity is taken to advance the values and interests of members, be this through submissions that the QNU makes to government and other policy bodies or through direct representations to politicians. We base the views presented on our agreed values—our union values of collectivism, equality, fairness, opportunity and sustainability and our nursing values of caring, professionalism, advocacy and holism.

It is essential that our organised voice for nursing and midwifery is not only presented but is heard and then acted upon. In the last few years we have had unprecedented access to the federal government. They have sought our views on a wide range of health and aged care policy issues, from the health reform agenda to the establishment of the national regulation framework for health professionals. For the first time a sitting Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, sought to meet with QNU Council, and the ANF Executive has met with Prime Ministers Rudd and Gillard on a number of occasions.

Importantly, after many years of lobbying by the QNU and ANF, in March 2008 Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced the creation of a Commonwealth Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer to advance views of the profession within government, an important determination in both a practical and symbolic way. The need to better balance and broaden the voices that are heard and acted on in health policy debate has been acknowledged by government.

But just having seats at the policy table is only part of story—we need to be organised to advance our agenda for change, an agenda that is backed by the collective strength of our membership. At the state and national level we are one of the largest unions in Australia. Ours is a voice strong in numbers and in message. We have policy priorities that are important not only to nurses and midwives but to the community as a whole. Our messages are aimed at both politicians and the broader community. To cope with the growing demand for health and aged care services Australia needs not only more nurses and midwives but also a greater voice for us in driving health policy. These are important and clear messages for this election campaign.

We are under no illusion that our political agenda is a long term one. Although significant policy advances have been made for nursing and midwifery in recent years we still have a way to go with key policy priority areas— aged care is a key example of this. This will be a policy priority area over the next few years and we will continue to vigorously pursue our Because We Care campaign objectives.

Politicians acknowledge the influence of nurses and midwives given our central role in front line service delivery and the respect that the community has for us. We must be prepared to take up John Menadue’s challenge and advance health and aged care policy reforms that are in the best interests of the community and are based firmly on our values.

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