ALLIED HEALTH ACTIVIST – MARCH 1, 2019
IN THIS EDITION:


2019 VAHPA Elections Declared

The Branch Committee of Management (BCOM) would like to take a moment to extend a warm welcome to your newly elected representative on BCOM: Nainaben (Naina) Dhana! The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) issued a formal declaration of results earlier today.

As you can see from the declaration, Naina was elected unopposed to the office of Ordinary Member of the Branch Committee of Management. 

Naina is a Radiation Therapist with a long and proud history of union activism across a number of countries. And we are thrilled to have such an experienced and passionate Allied Health worker join us on BCOM.  

You might also notice that Branch Secretary, Craig McGregor, was elected unopposed to the office of Branch Delegate to National Council.

McGregor was previously on National Council by dint of holding the office of National Trustee.

However, McGregor did not renominate for a national officer position with the Health Services Union at the relevant elections late last year. 

McGregor recently noted, “Andrew Hewat (VAHPA Assistant Secretary) and I have spent quite a bit of time over the past half-decade doing what we can to breathe life into the Federal HSU; this has been a time consuming and difficult task. We feel that we have done what we can in this space.” 

“We are not career union officials, we are Allied Health Professionals and VAHPA is our first and last union love.

It is the right time for us to pull back on our commitments to the HSU more broadly so we can focus exclusively on VAHPA,” said Hewat.  

“The next couple of years are going to be critical years for VAHPA and we need all hands-on deck if we are to make the sort of progress we want to make,” concluded McGregor.