Greens would pay every Australian nurse $10,000 to retain them

According to a proposal put out by Greens leader Adam Bandt, every nurse in the country would get a $10,000 incentive to prevent them from leaving their jobs.

Australia’s 320,000 nurses and paramedics would each get $5,000 in two instalments, one now and the other in a year.

The idea would cost taxpayers $3 billion, but Mr. Bandt said it could be financed by eliminating tax reductions for every employee making $45,000 or more that are scheduled to take effect in 2024.

In the next five years, more than a quarter of nurses, according to the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association, want to leave their jobs.

After the Covid-19 epidemic, many claim to feel exhausted.

State and territorial governments now hire nurses, but Mr. Bandt wants the federal government to take control.

He thinks the $3,000 payments made to nurses by the governments of NSW and Victoria in June were insufficient and wants a nationwide “NurseKeeper” programme.

In a speech to the National Nursing Forum on Thursday, he will remark, “Nurses are reporting significant levels of stress and exhaustion, a very human consequence of helping our nation survive the epidemic.”

“Society today has to do more than simply express gratitude to nurses; we need to make sure the position is secure.”

“We need to stop nurses from leaving the field and be honest about the weight nurses are carrying,” was the message.

Mr. Bandt also demanded that the salary for nurses be permanently raised across all jurisdictions.