Nola Fraser

Nola Fraser is an Australian politician, small business owner and nurse. Fraser became a whistleblower at two Sydney hospitals where she worked. Fraser has left nursing and currently owns a beauty salon. She was twice endorsed as a Liberal Party of Australia candidate for the seat of Macquarie Fields.

Whistleblower

Fraser rose to prominence when she publicly criticised the administration of Camden and Campbelltown hospitals in south-western Sydney. Her claims were backed by fellow nurses Valerie Owen, Vanessa Brag, Sheree Martin and Yvonne Quinn. On November 5 2002, Fraser took her concerns to the health minister, and her local member of parliament, the Australian Labor Party's Craig Knowles. Fraser would later claim—and Knowles deny—that upon cataloguing the dangers patients faced at the hospitals, the minister threatened her.

Knowles demanded evidence, which the nurses provided, but after three weeks there had been no word on any investigation. It was reported that New South Wales Department of Health officials had been destroying incriminating documents, but this claim was not substantiated in the later ICAC inquiry. Meanwhile, an internal review concluded that the nurses' claims merited investigation by the Health Care Complaints Commission.

On February 25 2003, the HCCC recommended that no action be taken, having made "no findings that support any loss of confidence by the community in the Macarthur Health Service." The findings came three weeks before 2003 state election, which Labor won.

Undeterred, Fraser and her colleagues continued their campaign in the media, with the help of influential talkback radio host Alan Jones. As HCCC investigations continued, according to a 2003 Sydney Morning Herald report, "those staff who were considering reporting their concerns about the failures watched helplessly as the whistleblower nurses were sidelined and victimised, their jobs placed in limbo." The department ordered a second investigation, led by the head of the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care.

A copy of the HCCC's interim report was leaked to the Sun-Herald. The HCCC had concluded that of 47 complaints, at least 17 patients "had died after receiving unsafe, inadequate or questionable care" at Camden and Campbelltown. But the report did not lay blame with any individual.

In response, the opposition Liberal party took up the nurses' concerns in earnest, decrying what they described as a cover-up.

ICAC Inquiry

An Independent Commission Against Corruption inquiry into Knowles' behaviour cleared the minister in September 2005.

The ICAC report stated that "while the commission accepts that Ms Fraser and Ms Martin are likely to have personally believed that their allegations were true, it has concluded that the allegations were founded on nothing more than gossip, speculation and hearsay."

The report said no first-hand evidence was provided of corrupt conduct, nor was there evidence to support claims of falsification and alteration of hospital records, criminal offences, suspicious deaths at Liverpool Hospital, or attempts to silence nurses with "hush money".

Though none of Ms Fraser's allegations were substantiated by the commission, separate investigations by the HCCC, a Special Commission of Inquiry, the state coroner and the New South Wales Ombudsman made findings that ended the careers of a number of bureaucrats.

Political campaigns

After Knowles left politics in 2005, Fraser contested his seat of Macquarie Fields for the opposition Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser achieved a swing of 12% for her party, not enough to defeat Labor's Steven Chaytor.

Fraser was again endorsed by the Liberals for the March 2007 election. However, despite Chaytor's conviction on assault charges two months before the poll, Fraser was unable to improve on her byelection result and was defeated by Labor's new candidate, Dr Andrew McDonald. However the area did have a large swing against Labor (~10%) as shown on the election coverage the night of the election.

See also

• New South Wales general election, 2007
• Sydney South West Area Health Service

References

• Australian Women biographies - Nola Fraser
• The Sydney Morning Herald - Exposing a tragic mess
• The Sydney Morning Herald - ICAC blows whistle on nurses