Mary Henry (Independent)

Like Senator Maurice Hayes, I am relieved that the nurses' dispute has not become a party political issue. We have to remember that market forces are on the nurses' side. The shortage of midwives in this country is so desperate that women are being seen later and later in pregnancy. Those who are employed in many of our maternity hospitals are under such stress that they cannot be retained. We are producing enough nurses in this country, but we are unable to retain them. We lose approximately half of our nurses within three years of graduation. I promoted direct entry into midwifery, which is now available in some hospitals. The nursing profession is leaking graduates, so we must think of means of retaining them. Considerably more than 10% of the nurses in this country graduated overseas. It is sad to think that a significant proportion of those who graduate here leave the profession. I accept that some of them go abroad for extra training.