s
b e c a u s e
w e
c a r e
Aged Care can’t wait g The NSWNA is piling the pressure on the Federal Government to ensure that 2012 is the year of the Aged Care Budget.
A
postcard campaign to the Prime Minister and visits to MPs urging them to sign a pledge are part of a new push to keep aged care on the Federal Government’s agenda. The next stage of the national Because we care campaign is determined to see 2012 as the year of the Aged Care Budget, and the ANF is asking for an initial injection of $494 million to fix the wage gap between nurses working in aged care and their public-sector counterparts. The NSWNA is calling on all Branches to pass a resolution asking the Prime Minister to make 2012 an Aged Care Budget and distribute and sign postcards to Julia Gillard. NSWNA members and the general public are asked to send the postcard – which is emblazoned with the message ‘Aged care can’t wait’ – directly to the PM’s office to ensure she receives them continually. In addition, representatives from the Association are visiting NSW federal MPs,
34 THE LAMP august 2011
Aged care needs you Here’s what you can do to help keep aged care on the Federal Government’s agenda:
c Let the NSWNA know if you can visit your local federal MP with a representative from the Association.
c Make sure your Branch passes a resolution asking the Prime Minister to make 2012 an Aged Care Budget.
c Go to the Because we care website to keep up to date with the campaign, and leave your comments and stories.
c Distribute ‘Aged care can’t wait’ brochures and postcards and encourage people to send their postcard to the Prime Minister. c Run a community stall in your local area or shopping mall asking people to sign the postcards.
requesting they sign a pledge to support aged care reform, including the right mix of staff and skills, wages comparable to the public sector, more funding tied to wages and staffing, and a focus on quality care. As The Lamp went to press, three NSW MPs had signed the pledge: Senator
If you would like to run a community stall in your area or receive more brochures and postcards, contact Stella Topaz at the NSWNA on 02 8595 1234 or email stopaz@nswnurses.asn.au.
Doug Cameron, MP Craig Thompson, member for Dobell, and MP Ed Husic, member for Chifley. Each MP the NSWNA and members visit will receive a copy of a new report by the ANF, which sets out detailed information about the wages gap in aged