ANF State secretary Romina Raschilla announces nurses union has abandoned its plans to form a political party

The nurses’ union has abandoned plans to establish a political party to contest the State election in March. ANF state secretary Romina Raschilla made the announcement on Saturday. “It’s clear ANF members want a change of pace after a tumultuous time in their union, and I commend the ANF council for decisively moving to ratify the wishes of our members,” Ms Raschilla said in a statement. “While there may have been support initially, members have seen that we need to refocus our energy on what the ANF is for: securing the best outcomes for members.” Ms Raschilla said the decision was informed by a recent members’ survey, which revealed sentiment towards the idea had changed. More than 60 per cent of those surveyed voted against the ANF funding and running a political party. “Right now, the ANF needs to organise itself in order to effectively negotiate those better pay-and-conditional goals for our members,” she said. “Especially with major enterprise agreements such as the public sector, Ramsay and St John of God all in active bargaining phases, the ANF cannot afford to divert resources at this critical time. “The ANF has many effective campaigning means beyond a political party that can put adequate pressure on employers to act in good faith, and I’m confident our members know that.” The proposed party, Nurses and Midwives WA, was launched under former secretary Janet Reah in August 2023 in an escalation of the union’s wage deal dispute with the State Government. “It is time we consider legislative intervention to fix our dilapidated health system,” Ms Reah said at the time. The ANF has more than 40,000 members. Ms Raschilla was elected state secretary unopposed in October, after the Industrial Relations Commission issued interim orders ruling her predecessor Mark Olson ineligible. Under Mr Olson, the union demanded a 20 per cent pay rise after settling for a 3 per cent increase as part of the former deal struck with the Government last year.