August 16, 2026

Community Campaigns

Painting the path to reconciliation

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To tell the story of its reconciliation journey, the Association turned to one of its own. The result is an artwork rich in stories of connection, care and community.

At the heart of the NSWNMA’s new Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), the Association has been honoured to recognise the contribution of the first Aboriginal person to be endorsed as a nurse practitioner in Australia, Lesley Salem.

A proud descendant of the Wonnarua Nation in NSW and Order of Australia recipient, Lesley was invited to describe her vision of the Association’s reconciliation journey.

Speaking from Hamilton, the fly-in fly-out remote area nurse said that her new work tells a simple story of a complex connection to country, community and care through Aboriginal storytelling traditions.

“My nursing has shown me that we often need a greater connection with our patients,” Lesley says. “My art is that connection with patients within the Aboriginal communities I work with.”

The action plan

Reconciliation is the word we give to the journey of restoring friendly relations in this land, Lesley says. “Australians are navigating the challenges of overt and covert racism every day.

“Reconciliation seeks a way to heal from the impact of historical colonisation, institutional and personal biases, ingrained cultural stereotypes and a media of casual microaggression normalising the racism of our schoolyards.

“Reconciliation must make two seemingly contradictory peoples compatible with one another.

“It’s an essential element in the ongoing struggle to heal historical divisions and build mutual respect.”

Orange is for healing

Using the rich vocabulary of her work’s narrative symbolism, Lesley says the journey begins from the dominant centre circle. “Here initially begins the division of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, demonstrated through the outer layer of people.

“The protection of a wind break, indicating that with our care this process of Reconciliation is protected, always.

“And at the centre is the NSWNMA organisation, central to this process, for protection and its outcomes.”

Outside the circle is a representation of the community with reconciliation. It shows a healthy community, respectful of the land, flora and fauna. “Water for life, ongoing,” Lesley explains. “Orange small circles show widespread healing, cultural humility.”

It goes from the green of the coast to the orange-browns of the desert.

The landscape of mountains, earth, rivers and rocks is punctuated with flowering gums, desert grasses, wattle (and Hardenbergia violacea), emu, kangaroo, eagle, goanna, echidna and ants as well as man and woman.

Also highlighted is the birthing place, Lesley says, while the entire circle is surrounded in a line of vivid orange – traditionally a healing colour.

“The pregnant women, the elderly and the nurse…

“Reconciliation is healing.”

Lesley’s work is helping to launch and guide the NSWNMA’s new RAP, which builds on reconciliation practices underway across the Association.

The RAP commits to strengthening relationships, improving cultural safety and increasing representation and leadership within the organisation.

“RAPs give our profession a practical, measurable way to build relationships, promote respect and create a meaningful way forward together,” Lesley says.

“My art just tries to depict how working together purposefully can result in a better society.”

Dollar for Dusty

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Dusty Langby is walking 540km from Warren to Canberra to help put rural healthcare shortages in the spotlight.

Most 12-year-olds spend their school holidays trying to avoid long walks. But Dusty Langby – son of NSWNMA member Sarah – is planning a hike that stretches all the way from the Orana Region of Central Western NSW to Parliament House.

The young schoolboy from the rural town of Warren is preparing to walk 540km to Canberra in an effort to raise money for children’s charity Little Wings and draw attention to the challenges faced by families in regional Australia trying to access specialist healthcare.

His goal, he says, is simple. He wants to “fall down at the Prime Minister’s door”.

Dusty’s determination is rooted in his own family’s experience; when he was just three years old, his father was seriously injured in a car accident and faced a long recovery, relying heavily on doctors, nurses and the support of the local community. With Mum Sarah returning to work at the local hospital, Dusty learned to help around the house, look after his younger brother Angus and pitch in on the family property outside Warren.

Now in Year 6 at Warren Central School, Dusty has seen first-hand how difficult it can be for country families to access specialist care that city families often take for granted. He hopes the journey will help shine a light on the shortage of paediatric services in the bush and the enormous distances many country families travel to get treatment for their children.

Little Wings provides free flights and ground transport for seriously ill children from regional and remote communities needing specialist medical care in major centres; they receive only limited government funding and rely heavily on donations and community support.

For Dusty, the cause is deeply personal. He and his younger brother Angus travelled to Sydney with the help of Little Wings to attend appointments at Royal Far West, where Angus was diagnosed with autism and ADHD, and both boys were diagnosed with a specific learning disorder. Dusty says getting answers changed everything for his family and allowed his brother to receive the support he needed to thrive at school.

“Because I’ve seen what happens when you get help, and I’ve seen what happens when you have to wait,” Dusty says. “I don’t want country kids to feel forgotten.”

Back home, Dusty has already become something of a local celebrity as support builds behind the mission. To help prepare for the challenge, schools and communities along the route are being invited to take part in a “Dollar for Dusty” fundraiser by walking laps of their own school ovals and donating a gold coin to Little Wings. The idea is simple: if Dusty can walk 540km for country kids, surely the rest of us can manage one more lap around the oval.

The route from Warren to Canberra is roughly the same distance as driving from Sydney to Melbourne and back to Goulburn for good measure. And by the time he reaches the nation’s capital, Dusty is hoping politicians won’t just notice the sore feet. He wants them to pay attention to the families who make journeys just as long every week simply to see a specialist or to attend an appointment their city counterparts can reach in half an hour.

Spanning from August 30 to September 14, the walk will take Dusty through towns and communities that understand those realities all too well. Supporters are expected to join him for sections of the journey as his message gathers momentum on the road to Canberra.

For a 12-year-old, it’s an awfully long way to walk for an audience with the PM. But then again, for plenty of regional families, travelling that far for healthcare is about as normal as it gets.

Dusty’s mission, he says, is for his brother, for the children in his school and for families “who are trying their best”.

“I might only be 12,” he says, “but I know that where you live shouldn’t decide if you get the help you need.”

The NSWNMA Council has made a donation of $10,000 in support of Dusty – and we wish him all the best for the long journey ahead!

Find out more information here: https://www.givenow.com.au/dollar-for-dusty

Devastating consequences from distrust in health care

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Influencers and others on social media have revived and spread disinformation that has undermined health care interventions.

This year has seen outbreaks of Ebola, hantavirus and, in Australia, diphtheria. Among the challenges in dealing with these outbreaks has been distrust in health care or a lack of information where misinformation has filled the vacuum, say health experts writing for the online magazine, The Conversation.

They report how distrust, rumours and misinformation have repeatedly emerged as major barriers to controlling Ebola.

These issues have “hampered how cases of Ebola are identified, discouraged people to seek timely health care or to hide cases, and have undermined public health interventions”.

In late May, some residents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo set fire to a tent set up by Médecins Sans Frontières for suspected and confirmed Ebola cases.

The trigger for this was the announcement of a ban on large funeral wakes and gatherings which served to alienate the local population from health authorities.

During the recent cruise ship hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius, US health officials were slow to communicate publicly about the risks. Others then filled the vacuum, including online influencers spreading information via social media about the virus’ pandemic potential, unproven treatments, as well as false links to vaccination.

Better communication and community-driven action are vital during these outbreaks, experts say: frequent press conferences, social media updates and direct engagement with the public helps build the necessary trust.

Nursing a community

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NSWNMA member Noeloene Brown thinks she might be Australia’s oldest Aboriginal nurse still working full-time. At 74, she reflects on a career spanning almost half a century – from shy young hospital trainee to veteran nurse deeply committed to her community.

Noeloene Brown had low expectations when she applied for an enrolled nurse traineeship at Kempsey Hospital on the mid north coast in 1977.  

“Someone told me there was funding for an Aboriginal person to do some training,” she says. “Nursing was my lifelong dream but I had no qualifications – I left school at 15. I was very surprised to be accepted.” 

Noeloene may have lacked formal education but she had plenty of life experience when she started the traineeship, at age 25. 

She grew up around shearing sheds where her father Noel worked as a rouseabout. An uncle taught her to hunt rabbits with a .22 rifle and use a .410 shotgun. “I had the best upbringing,” she says. 

Noel refused to accept government funding for 13-year-old Noeloene to buy schoolbooks and stationery as part of a program for Aboriginal families. “I’ll look after my children. I don’t need the government to support me,” Noeloene remembers him saying. 

“He may have thought that if he couldn’t support his children, the government would take them. They were still removing Aboriginal children from their families in those days.”  

Noel died of a heart attack at 43, leaving Noeloene’s mum Bertha to raise nine children. 

“Noel ruled with an iron fist but I loved him dearly. Mum did a really good job of raising us on her own. She died at 62.” 

Noeloene left the family home in Walcha on the northern tablelands and travelled to Sydney, where she found factory work. “I came home when I was 18 and married my husband Greg – and we’re still married today.” 

At Kempsey Hospital Noeloene found the children’s ward had a separate room for Aboriginal children. They were required to use silver mugs – “presumably so they could be sterilised.” 

“One morning I got up in the staff tearoom and said, ‘I forgot my silver mug.’ You could have heard a pin drop. The silver mugs disappeared from that day on.” 

Bus crash 

Noeloene was on call on the night of 22 December 1989, when Kempsey Hospital became the main triage and treatment facility for 41 survivors of Australia’s worst road accident.  

Two tourist coaches collided head-on on the Pacific Highway at Clybucca near Kempsey, killing 
35 people. 

“I got a call at two or three o’clock in the morning to say, there has been a disaster come to work quickly.” 

Medical teams with surgical capabilities were flown in to help Kempsey staff assess, stabilise and treat passengers who arrived with severe trauma, fractures and lacerations. 

In 1979, soon after qualifying as an EN, Noeloene took a short break from Kempsey Hospital to help out at Durri Aboriginal Medical Centre (Durri is a Dunghutti word that means “to grow in good health”) which had opened in Kempsey three years earlier.  

In 2002, Noeloene left the hospital to return to Durri AMC where she still works full-time as an EEN. 

Her role extends well beyond her base at the clinic.  

She is on call 24/7 to help community members navigate the healthcare system and explain medical information in understandable terms.  

“Everyone knows me as Aunty Narn. That’s how I introduce myself,” she says. 

“I make people’s doctors appointments and I make sure they’ve got the funding to pay for those appointments. If they need transport, if they need me to go with them, I do whatever they want me to do. 

“I also know when to step back if they don’t want my help.  

“Community nursing is something that I’m very passionate about. I just love doing what I do. 

“I’m also a mentor on cultural learning for the junior doctors and registrars that visit Durri and other medical centres.” 

Noeloene says Aboriginal medical centres have greatly improved health outcomes and reduced hospitalisations.  

Fewer child admissions 

 She has observed a significant drop in hospital admissions for Aboriginal children, particularly for conditions like otitis media and roundworm. 

She attributes this to preventative care and community support provided by the centre, which is controlled by the local Aboriginal community. 

“When the medical centre opened, we secured funding to get medications to give to the mothers, so the children didn’t end up in hospital for long periods of time.” 

She says community control of Durri AMC ensures that “services meet community needs, as defined by them”.  

“We provide comprehensive support, including funding for specialist appointments, transport and accommodation, which is crucial for improving health outcomes.” 

 Durri AMC recently set up a social and emotional wellbeing team including community health workers and nurses. 

“This is a big project that’s just started to take shape. It aims to support mental health including during sorry business (grief and loss) within the community,” Noeloene says. 

She describes her career as “very happy and fulfilling”.

“I’ve done a lot, from assisting with hip replacements and knee replacements to helping deliver babies.  

“I’m very privileged and very proud to be a nurse. It’s a career that needs dedication and commitment, and I think I’ve given that to the nursing profession over almost 50 years.” 

Working towards reconciliation  

The Association expects to launch its Reconciliation Action Plan in August to guide our reconciliation efforts with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

NSWNMA General Secretary Michael Whaites said the plan would provide a practical and structured approach to reconciliation.  

It is being developed in consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. 

The Association has established an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Circle and recently appointed two Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander councillors. 

“While there is a growing awareness of the importance of reconciliation, there is an opportunity to deepen staff and member understanding and engagement across all levels,” Michael said. 

A half-century of adversity and achievement

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NAIDOC Week (5-12 July), the annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories and achievements, turns 50 this year. Its theme for 2026 is ‘50 Years of Deadly’, in honour of leaders and communities who helped build the movement. The Lamp spoke to NSWNMA member Michelle Cutmore, inaugural president of the Association’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Circle.

Australia’s first Aboriginal Medical Service (AMS) opened in 1971 as a shopfront on Regent Street in Redfern, an inner suburb of Sydney. 

Founded as a co-operative, Redfern AMS pioneered the concept of Aboriginal health care controlled by local communities. 

Today, Redfern AMS is one of 41 healthcare organisations (ACCHOs) in NSW governed by Aboriginal communities and funded by the NSW Ministry of Health. 

NSWNMA member RN Michelle Cutmore started as an Aboriginal Health Worker at Redfern AMS in 1993. 

There were no formal training courses for the role, but it launched her 33-year career in Aboriginal health in both ACCHOs and state health departments in NSW and Queensland. 

“We were learning in a demountable building on site with doctors, dentists, nurses and Aboriginal leaders as our teachers. The course was funded by the former ATSIC (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission),” she said. 

Michelle, who comes from a family of five children, was the first to complete university studies, in 2008. 

She did a Bachelor of Nursing as a mature aged student at the University of Western Sydney, because “I realised that nursing would allow me a greater scope of practice and management 
of the issues faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”. 

Michelle currently works as a nurse at Aboriginal medical services in Gamilaroi country of Moree (her hometown) and Bowen, Queensland.  

She says access to training for Aboriginal health workers has greatly improved since she started out in the 1990s. 

“There are now registered training organisations that conduct Certificate III and IV training that can ultimately lead to registration with AHPRA as an Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP),” she says.  

Michelle believes AHPs working at the top of their scope of practice can play a greater leadership role in how Aboriginal community health services are delivered. 

AHPs who are embedded in their communities are best positioned to lead community clinics and thereby foster culturally safe care and better community outcomes, she says. 

“AHPs live and work in their home community, and they understand kinship and community relationships. They know what’s going on with sorry business and why people aren’t able to make it to appointments, for example. 

“AHP-led clinics are our future because they are key to self-determination. 

“While a few services are transitioning to AHP-led models, most still operate under a medical model of care with doctor–nurse.” 

Michelle says many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience a loss of dignity through being treated as second-class citizens in the healthcare system, which undermines their health outcomes.  

In The Lamp (Letters, February–March 2026 edition) she welcomed the formation of the NSW Anti-Racism Collaborative, which brings together the NSWNMA, state government, healthcare professionals and the Australian Human Rights Commission to tackle racism in the health sector. 

The Collaborative arose from a 2024 NSWNMA survey of racism in the health and aged care sectors. 

It found that 70 per cent of nurses, midwives, AiNs, and care workers believe racism exists in their workplace. 

“Being part of the NSWNMA Anti- Racism Collaborative matters to me because racism is finally being named,” she said. 

“Too often, [racism] operates quietly through systems of power and control, directing the narrative of who feels safe, respected, and heard.  

“The same systems that uphold culturally unsafe workplaces for staff also compromise the quality of care provided to our communities.” 

Michelle’s own attempts to raise issues relating to cultural safety have met resistance. 

She cites two recent examples: being told not to use the term  “Blak” (intentionally spelled without “c” to reject colonialism) and being asked to be “less proud” of her Aboriginal identity because it made others uncomfortable. 

“Racism is about taking away people’s power. It’s not seeing them. It’s not hearing them,” she said. 

Michelle said NSWNMA’s formation of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Member Circle more than two years ago has “created space” for Aboriginal nurses and midwives to put issues before Association decision-making forums.  

Sally Goold’s pioneering legacy  

Michelle Cutmore paid tribute to the late Sally Goold, who achieved a series of ‘firsts’ in Aboriginal nursing. 

Dr Goold, who died in 2025, left school at 14 and became the first Aboriginal nursing student in NSW – at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital – at just 16.  

She was the first Aboriginal nurse in NSW, the first nurse employed at the Redfern AMS in 1971, and the founding director of Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Nurses (CATSIN), later renamed CATSINaM to incorporate midwives. 

Her studies culminated in a master’s degree in nursing at Flinders University, researching the question, “Why are there so few Aboriginal registered nurses?”  

In marking her passing, CATSINaM said Dr Goold’s findings of racism imposed upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and the lack of student support, inspired her leadership and advocacy as the organisation’s founding director. 

Dr Goold received the Medal of the Order of Australia in 1986 for her services to nursing education and Aboriginal health, was awarded a Doctor of Nursing, Honoris Causa, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2002, and was Senior Australian of the Year in 2006. 

Pride began with protest, and unions were there from the start

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When the Pride movement began taking root in Sydney in 1978, it did so in the face of hostility. The first Mardi Gras was remembered as a night of courage and celebration, but marchers from that historic event will remember the police presence, the violence, the arrests, and ultimately, the fear. 

Amid that first act of defiance, unions stood should-to-shoulder with the community. 

Solidarity is in unions’ DNA  

From the earliest days of the movement, unions recognised that LGBTQIA+ rights were workers’ rights. 

In 1978, the same year that the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras rally was organised, the Gay Trade Unionist Group was formed, creating a powerful alliance between the queer community and organised labour. 

In 1973, the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) took what is regarded as the world’s first industrial action in defence of LGBTQIA+ rights. When Macquarie University expelled a student because of his sexuality, BLF members refused to continue their construction work on the campus. This strike became known as the ‘Pink Bans’ and is a landmark moment in the fight for quality. 

Fairness, dignity, and equality have always been the foundations of a union, and they are the foundations of Pride.  

NSWNMA has always stood up for every nurse, midwife, and carer 

For NSWNMA, supporting the LGBTQIA+ community wasn’t an option; it’s embedded in our purpose. 

We fight for safe workplaces, equitable treatment, and respect for every member, including our vibrant LGBTQIA+ cohort. Whether advocating for inclusive healthcare, supporting marriage equality, or pushing for gender affirmation leave, our commitment remains the same: everyone deserves equal dignity at work and in care. 

Together, we progressed 

Across the union movement, we’ve supported the wins that shaped LGBTQIA+ equality, including: 

  • Parental leave for rainbow families 
  • Federal anti-discrimination protections 
  • Marriage equality 
  • Gender affirmation leave 
  • Gender-based violence is a workplace Health and Safety issue 

The fight continues – just like our commitment  

The wins that have been achieved for the LGBTQIA+ community are nothing short of historic, but it doesn’t stop here.  

Since 2017, the NSWNMA has proudly marched in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade– that’s almost a decade of us showing up to lend our voice to the fight for queer rights at one of the most iconic Pride celebrations. Our participation is about ensuring our vibrant queer community is uplifted, recognised, and supported to continue thriving 

However, being an ally isn’t always about megaphones and marches (although there’s still a place for those!). Sometimes it starts with something as simple (but lifechanging for some) as respecting pronouns. 

With more than 80,000 members from all walks of life, the NSWNMA will keep pushing for workplaces that genuinely welcome the LGBTQIA+ community.

Join us in building workplaces where every LGBTQIA+ person feels supported and celebrated – learn more by clicking on this link.

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