The Greens’ plan to hand $10,000 to every nurse in Australia each to stop them quitting

On Aug 18, 2022

Every nurse in the nation would be paid a $10,000 bonus to stop them quitting under a plan proposed by Greens leader Adam Bandt.

All 320,000 nurses and paramedics in Australia would get the cash in two chunks of $5,000, one now and one in 12 months’ time.

The plan would cost taxpayers $3billion but Mr Bandt said it could be paid for by ditching tax cuts for every worker earning $45,000 which are due in 2024.

Every nurse in the nation would be paid a $10,000 bonus to stop them quitting under a plan proposed by Greens leader Adam Bandt. Pictured: Nurses in Camperdown, Sydney

The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association has warned that more than a quarter of nurses plan to quit in the next five years.

Many say they feel burnt out after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nurses are employed by state and territory governments but Mr Bandt wants the federal government to step in.

He believes the $3,000 payments handed to nurses by the NSW and Victoria governments in June were not enough and wants a national ‘NurseKeeper’ scheme.

‘Nurses are reporting high levels of burnout and fatigue, a very human consequence of helping our society survive the pandemic,’ he will say in a speech to the National Nursing Forum on Thursday.

‘Society now needs to do more than just thank nurses, we need to ensure the job is sustainable.

‘We need to stop nurses leaving the profession and be clear-eyed about the burden nurses are bearing.’

Mr Bandt also called for a permanent increase in nurses’ pay in all jurisdictions.

All 320,000 nurses in Australia would get the cash in two chunks of $5,000, one now and one in 12 months’ time

Stage three tax cuts explained

The stage three cuts in 2024 will benefit anyone earning over $45,000 by creating a flat rate of 30 per cent between $45,000 and $200,000.

They will also lift the 45 per cent threshold from $180,000 to $200,000.

Currently income over $45,000 is taxed at 32.5 per cent, over $120,000 at 37 per cent and over $180,000 at 45 per cent.

Those earning more than $120,000 will benefit the most. A politician on $211,250 will get a tax cut of $9,075. A registered nurse on $72,235 will get a tax cut of $681.

The changes were part of a three-stage tax reform package which was legislated in 2019.

Stage two cuts, which helped Aussies earning less than $120,000, were brought forward by two years to July 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.