Mrs SALLY QUINNELL (Camden) (11:28): My question is addressed to the Minister for Industrial Relations. Will the Minister update the House on the immediate actions that the Government is taking to look after essential workers in New South Wales?
Ms SOPHIE COTSIS (Canterbury—Minister for Industrial Relations, and Minister for Work Health and Safety) (11:28): Congratulations on your election, Mr Speaker. I thank the amazing member for Camden—the Labor member for Camden. How fantastic is that? When I was in Mount Annan and Camden, it was amazing. What an amazing spirit. The people of Camden have made the right decision in electing the member. When I was in Mount Annan just before the election, the people there—the firies, the teachers, the cleaners at the local hospital—told me how they were going to vote for Labor for the very first time because of our policies and because of our fantastic candidate, Sally Quinnell.
The Minns Labor Government is committed to working constructively and respectfully with public sector employees to make sure that they receive fair and reasonable pay and conditions. We on this side have already commenced—the day after the election—initial conversations with workers and their representatives. And, in just a few weeks, we have made progress. The Minns Government is reducing the administrative burden on teachers. It is fantastic. You can see the relief. I acknowledge our Premier and Deputy Premier for doing this. They have listened, unlike those opposite.
We have announced a special commission of inquiry into the health system. We are providing temporary teachers a conversion to secure permanent jobs. It was the members on this side of the Chamber who made the announcement to convert 16,000 teachers and support staff to permanent. How good is that? Those opposite did absolutely nothing. We have funding for an extra 500 rural and regional paramedics. The Safe Staffing Working Group is already working to ensure one nurse to every three patients in emergency departments, with more units and wards to follow. We are making progress and we will have a lot more to say in the coming weeks and months. [Extension of time]
We know that after 12 years of Coalition government, almost three-quarters of healthcare workers and teachers are thinking about leaving New South Wales to go to another State—Queensland or Victoria—where conditions are better. We want to ensure we have nurses in our hospitals and teachers in our classrooms. But equally important are the workers who do not receive as much attention: cleaners, orderlies, administrative staff, support staff, security and many more, without whom our essential services would grind to a halt. These workers are not the centre of media campaigns, they do not receive much praise or attention and they often are the lowest paid in our society. Unlike the former Coalition Government, we are committed to ensuring they receive fair pay and conditions.
The wages cap was unfair on these workers. New South Wales public sector wages decreased by 5 per cent in real terms between December 2021 and December 2022 compared to a decrease of 3.9 per cent in the New South Wales private sector. I am a practical person, because when you are a working mother and a cancer survivor, you focus on what matters. You put ideology aside and focus on the outcome and what matters—real, practical solutions. What matters to me are the essential workers of this State. They take pride in what they do. Whether they are orderlies or security or cleaners in schools, they take pride. At the heart of it is the different approach taken by this side of the House and that side of the House. The people of New South Wales will see that difference in the coming days—they have seen it already. The day after the election I saw firsthand the relief, when teachers came up to me, hugging me with tears of joy that we were elected. [Time expired.]
