After more than 14 years at the NSWNMA, including a year as Assistant General Secretary and the past three years as General Secretary, I am resigning to spend more time with my family.

As many of you may now know I will finish my tenure as your General Secretary at the end of this 2025.

It has been an incredibly difficult decision to make but one that is right for me and my family.

The role of General Secretary is all consuming, and I’ve become more realistic about the time and support I need and want to give to my young family.

This union means so much to me, and I’m incredibly proud of the wins we’ve had and the outcomes we’ve delivered for our members.

Together we have secured lasting improvements. In the NSW public sector, they include the commencement of nurse-to-patient ratios and our largest ever strikes for fair pay. These strikes led to our historic legal case now underway to correct deep-seated gender undervaluation in nurses’ wages.

In the private sector, we have mobilised members to successfully campaign for better enterprise agreements, while in aged care our pay and staffing wins have also been historic.

It has been a privilege and a joy to share this special journey with you over these years. We have had to fight hard because no one is going to give nurses and midwives what they are entitled toon a silver platter. But we should all be proud of what we have achieved, together writing our own chapter in the history of this great union.

No one who bore witness to our strikes and actions over the last few years could deny what a courageous, energetic, caring and astute membership we have, totally committed to the wellbeing of our patients and residents and unswerving in their resolve to defend and improve our health and aged care systems.

You are inspiring – to me and to many others.

New leadership has my full support

I would like to acknowledge Assistant General Secretary, Michael Whaites for his unwavering support, loyalty and friendship during my tenure. I am extremely proud of the powerful partnership we developed and the collective work we achieved together.

I’d also like to thank the NSWNMA Council, the Association’s hardworking staff, the brave and selfless activists of our union and all our 82,000 members.

The NSWNMA Council has accepted my resignation and has unanimously appointed Michael Whaites as the incoming General Secretary, and Katrina Bough as Assistant General Secretary. Michael and Katrina will commence in their new roles at the Association from 1 January 2026.

Michael has a wealth of experience as both a clinician and a union leader. He has worked as a registered nurse and midwife in aged care, neonatal intensive care, and maternity services, mainly at RPAH, where he was a CME for antenatal and postnatal services. He was a branch official at RPAH – an organised and active branch that commanded the respect of management and effectively and responsibly wielded power and influence in the interests of members.

Michael has been exemplary in the role of Assistant General Secretary over the last three years and has been tireless in his efforts to strengthen this union and to win outcomes that will improve the lives of our members and our patients.

Katrina is a third-generation nurse having followed her mother and grandmother into the profession.

Her union activism was tempered in the forge of our campaign against the privatisation of rural and regional hospitals.

In that campaign Katrina learned about organising, the importance of relationships and networks, engaging community and power of collectivism, working together with other unions and lobbying politicians. Over the last five years she has been a senior member of my team.

This new leadership team has my full support. I wholeheartedly believe they will do a tremendous job, and this union will go from strength to strength under their united leadership.