Campaign to save Medicare marches on

by Marie Lean

The Union of Australian Women's morning tea on September 24 
featured the Save Medicare campaign. Following a presentation by 
John Wishart from Health Consumers Alliance of SA it was decided 
to organise a deputation to SA Senator Meg Lees to put forward 
the views of a number of organisations on the urgent need to 
defend Medicare.

The deputation met with Meg Lees last Friday, attended by the 
secretary of Adelaide's Trade and Labor Council, Janet Giles, 
representatives of the Union of Australian Women (UAW), the YWCA, 
Australian Nurses Union (ANU), AMWU, AEU, MUA and Health 
Consumers Alliance.

Many pages of signatures were collected by CPA and UAW members at 
the MUA commemoration of the 1928 Waterside Workers' strike at 
Port Adelaide on September 28 — reported in last week's 
Guardian.

The SA United Trades and Labor Council's celebration of Labor Day 
this year took place in the grounds of the Queen Elizabeth 
Hospital and featured the cutting of a birthday cake signifying 
the 20th year of Medicare. UAW members were again on hand to 
collect signatures on the Save Medicare petition.

The UTLC has recently issued its own Medicare petition and the 
AMWU is also circulating petitions in workplaces.