Exodus: Plea for reset on emergency services workers pay as fears Tweed Valley Hospital could open without staff to run it

Fears a $750 million redevelopment of a North Coast hospital will open without the staff to run it have sparked pleas to stop frontline workers from being poached by the Sunshine state.

North Coast MPs and union officials speak out about Queensland poaching NSW frontline workers.

Fears there won't be enough staff left to man the new $750 million Tweed Valley Hospital redevelopment – as rival states continues to poach frontline emergency services workers – have made their way to Macquarie St.

Police officers, nurses and paramedics are among the skilled public sector workers being steadily lured over the border by better pay in Queensland, leaving an already under serviced regional area in the lurch.

The new Tweed Valley Hospital is set to open in early 2024. Picture: Contributed

Tweed State Nationals MP Geoff Provest called on the NSW Government to provide incentives for nurses, police, paramedics and other essential workers to stay in NSW, otherwise a worker shortage “is going to hit us hard” in the Tweed.

“I'm concerned that we’re going to open a brand new $750 million hospital and we won’t have the staff to maintain it. Which ... is just absolutely devastating.

Geoff Provest is The Nationals Party state MP for Tweed. Picture: Supplied

He called on the state government to stem the poaching and pleaded for a serious “reset” on how emergency service and health sector workers are paid, bringing the pay in NSW equal to QLD.

It comes as The Daily Telegraph revealed health workers who move to the bush will get up to $20,000 in incentives in a Minns government bid to fill gaping holes in regional workforces.

The pledge, unveiled on Friday at The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit, doubles the $10,000 scheme currently on offer for key health professionals, with Premier Chris Minns saying the lesser figure had failed to improve staffing shortages that were crippling regional and remote NSW.

In response, Richmond Federal Labor MP, Justine Elliot, pointed to a “decade of neglect” under the previous state government.

“Our public sector workers had their wages slashed due to a ten-year wage freeze under Geoff Provest and his LNP Government,” Ms Elliot said.

Justine Elliot MP. Picture: Martin Ollman.

“This resulted in many first responders, emergency services personnel and health sector workers moving to Queensland for higher wages.

This comes as The Daily Telegraph confirmed that five officers from Tweed Heads Police Area Command have applied to take advantage of the $20,000 cash relocation offer by Queensland Police, with a further 10 considering moving across the border, leaving senior officers concerned that freshly trained recruits will move interstate.

NSW police union president, Kevin Morton, said the NSW government needs to increase its investment in frontline workers‘ health and financial security “to continue attracting and retaining the best and brightest”.

Police Association of NSW President Kevin Morton. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“The current relocation incentives from the Queensland Police Service are incredibly enticing at a time when cost-of-living pressures and housing affordability are causing many of our frontline workers to struggle to make ends meet,” he said.

“The NSW Government must work to retain our existing police officers by providing increased salary, superannuation and entitlements to meet the incentives offered by other law enforcement agencies nationwide.

“Offering HECS relief bonuses and paid-to-train incentives would significantly reduce the financial strain for newly trained police officers entering the workforce.”

North Coast Minister Rose Jackson said “it’s an investment we have to make”.

NSW Shadow Minister Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson with Lismore State MP Janelle Saffin.

“Almost three-quarters of healthcare workers and teachers are thinking about leaving NSW to go to another state where conditions are better,” she said.

“We know that after over a decade of wage suppression some of our key workers have felt undervalued and overworked and this needs to come to an end.

“We were elected with a clear mandate to scrap the wages cap and sit down for a genuine negotiation with our frontline workers including nurses, paramedics, teachers, firefighters and police.

Tired and frustrated paramedics gathered outside Tweed MP Geoff Provest’s office in an effort for better pay conditions. Photo: David Bonaddio

“We are committed to improving working conditions, stopping our frontline workers quitting and attracting more people to these vital roles.

Ms Jackson said the Minns government had already delivered a 4.5 per cent increase under the Government’s Fair Pay Policy, the biggest pay increase for NSW nurses and midwives – and the entire public sector – in over a decade.

“We know there is a lot of work to do, we can’t fix a decade of failure and wrong priorities from the former government overnight – but we can start rebuilding by supporting our frontline workers.”