19 May, 2026
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question without notice to the Minister for Industrial Relations on the topic of enterprise bargaining for public sector nurses and midwives.
Leave granted.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Public sector nurses and midwives are at breaking point. They work with some of the most vulnerable South Australians to alleviate suffering, protect patient safety, uphold patient dignity and provide care from birth to end of life. The public sector nurses and midwives enterprise agreement expired on 31 July 2025. Offers tabled by this government fell well short of addressing a respectful living wage and improved working conditions.
The government has also failed to meet the standards set by other states and territories and, more importantly, it has failed to show nurses and midwives the respect they deserve. My question to the Minister for Industrial Relations is: if the government can find $45 million to upgrade a golf course, why can't it pay nurses and midwives what they are worth?
The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Arts, Special Minister of State) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for his question. I won't go into too much detail. Sadly, I have to inform the honourable member that I no longer have ministerial responsibility for public sector negotiations. As the honourable member has pointed out, my title is now Minister for Industrial Relations. Prior to the election it was Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector. The Treasurer, the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis, now has responsibility for the public sector, which includes negotiations with public sector unions.
I won't have the details that I was able to provide the honourable member previously, but I will reiterate some of the general comments that I have made in the past. We absolutely do appreciate public sector workers in South Australia, whether they be frontline workers or providing those critical services that South Australians rely upon. The other thing we do appreciate that is very, very different from the way those opposite, the Liberal opposition, operated in government is that we respect the role that trade unions play in representing their members and their members' rights in negotiations.
Before the election, I know we had interim administrative payments for those covered by the enterprise bargaining for nurses and midwives. From memory, I think it was a 4 per cent payment backdated to the start of this year, and then another 2 per cent payment, if I remember correctly, in October as an interim measure while negotiations continued, and they will continue in good faith.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Supplementary.
The PRESIDENT: This is going to be a fantastic attempt.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Does the minister stand by the comments that she made in relation to the previous government's land grabs, and how can she justify a different position?
The PRESIDENT: I think that is similar enough to the first question and she has answered that. Unless the minister wants to add something I don't think that follows from her original answer.