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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 970 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

this matter to resolution. Nobody reading or hearing the steps that are being taken by the government, which are not being disputed by those opposite, could fail to agree that the minister has used every available diligence to bring this matter to an appropriate conclusion. It is a case of attempting to discuss the matter, attempting to put issues on the table, attempting to negotiate those matters and, in fact, successfully bringing a significant part of the nursing work force to the table on this matter.

If as Mr Berry says, this offer of nearly a 12 per cent pay rise to ACT nurses is in fact an attempt by the government to crush the nurses, to quote Mr Berry's highly emotive language, why have the nurses at Calvary Hospital and, I think, also potentially members of other parts of the ACT nursing work force, accepted the government's offer by, I understand, an overwhelming majority? Are the nurses at Calvary somehow less understanding of the issues than those at the Canberra Hospital? Why have nurses at Canberra Hospital not had the opportunity to take part in a secret ballot in respect of this matter? Indeed, why have nurses at Canberra Hospital found it necessary to circulate and sign a petition calling on the Nursing Federation to conduct a ballot? If the position is so clear that nurses do not accept the offer that government has made, then put it to a democratic secret ballot. There is absolutely no reason why that should not happen. There is no reason why the result would be distorted in that way. The fact that the nurses federation has consistently refused to do that speaks volumes for their position.

There is another very important reason why I argue that we should not support Mr Berry's amendment, and that is that we are crossing a line here which has not previously been crossed. Let me say first of all that I am not clear what Mr Berry's amendment is actually saying because it uses language which is not usually used in amendments in this place. He wants to add to the motion that the Assembly takes note of the paper, the words "and that the Government agree to an immediate variation to the Canberra Hospital and ACT Community Care Nurses Certified Agreements" et cetera. He uses the words "and that the government agree". Is this: (a) a description of what the government actually does; (b) an instruction to the government; or (c)-

Mr Berry: Yes.

MR HUMPHRIES: So it is an instruction to the government? It is a direction to the government?

Mr Berry: Yes.

MR HUMPHRIES: This is mandatory? This is a mandatory requirement?

Mr Berry: Yes.

MR HUMPHRIES: Well, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, in that case this is something which this Assembly has not ever done before. It has not used the paramount power of parliament to direct a minority government. It has not previously used that power to intervene in industrial relations matters in this territory.

Mr Berry: We are not.

MR HUMPHRIES: You said this was mandatory, that it was a direction.

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