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NewsMeet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia
Meet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia

Meet the oldest Air Ambulance Nurse in Australia

Tags: FiftyUp Club
Last updated by Someone on

Maureen Roberts has many career highlights to share from her 32 years as Australia’s longest serving air ambulance nurse.

In a recent interview on Macquarie Media, Maureen told the story of the pilot of her aircraft passing out at the controls and how she calmly popped his oxygen mask on and brought him around enough to land the plane. And you thought your job had challenges!

Maureen began her career in the Riverina and became interested in the Air Ambulance are speaking to a fellow nurse from the service. She started her career in Albury but is now based at Mascot, near Sydney.

Another memorable moment of her career involved a premature baby in the skies over the Hunter Valley in NSW. The Air Ambulance needed to land but a FA18 Hornet on “critical fuel” took precedence. Maureen remembers saying to the Air Ambulance pilot “the fighter pilot can eject if he needs to but we can’t, we need to land”!

One of the wonderful things about her job, Maureen told us, is that every day is a different experience depending on the patients you're transporting.

“Sometimes you're taking people home to die and they know they're going to die and they have the most amazing conversations with you."

Hear the full interview with Maureen Roberts here

Originally posted on .

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Alyson
Alyson from NSW commented:

I'd like to see some discussion and investigation into mobile phone plans. We are paying too much in Australia. People power through the FiftyUp Club should have some influence. 

Ali
Ali from NSW replied to Alyson:

This is a good idea Alyson, I personally find it confusing comparing mobile phone plans - cheaper providers can offer unlimited everything for around $40, whereas to get a similar deal with the 'better' providers - e.g. Telstra and Optus, it can cost closer to $100. Definitely worth investigation. 

Barbara
Barbara from NSW commented:

I don't know of any privatised entity that has been responsible for reduced costs. It should also be remembered that our taxes (and in some cases, "special levies") were introduced and used to pay for and develop these "Government" institutions to provide us with the services necessary for our "day to day"existence. They were not created for the benefit of " Governmental Mates " or to pay back for political favours. Don't ever believe that it is for the benefit of the general population to privatise ANYTHING , EVER ! 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Barbara:

Well said Barbara - totally agree. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Beverley:

Hello Barbaba and hello again Beverley. You say that one should not believe that privatisation is for the benefit of the general population. Herein lies the perceptional problem again, you (and this demographic in general) clearly do not understand national economics 101. Public assets are sold to pay down debt. Debt costs us all just like a credit card debt costs you personally. Taxes which are collected (which is the ONLY form of income available to government) some of that tax revenue (your money) is used to pay interest on debt. The principal is not reduced. When a public asset is sold, most often the proceeds of that sale of your asset is used to pay down debt, thus reducing the amount of interest which the budget requires from your taxes. The balancing act which needs to be considered by a responsible government is whether the annual "dividends" paid by operating the government entity are worth more to the taxpaying public than the permanent reduction in interest bills through the pay down of debt. One more thing to consider before making sweeping claims that no-one benefits from privatisation is that the above equation becomes a no-brainer when the government entity is making a loss in which case it is ALWAYS preferable to realise a lump sum than to continue to bleed. 

Scott
Scott from NSW replied to Garth:

Fantastic reply Garth! Finally someone on this forum who spell AND count. 

david
david from NSW commented:

Looking at both home and car insurance, surely there has to be savings to 50+ members of the community who own their car & home. The policy wording is now clearly designed to confuse with what is covered and what is not in some many different risks. Let's get a real deal!! 

Perrine - FiftyUp Club
Perrine - FiftyUp Club from NSW replied to david:

Hi David, we are looking into home and contents insurance as this has been a common recommendation from our members. Hopefully, we can unlock a discount in the future that will allow you to save! 

terry
terry from NSW commented:

all of these so called government assets were built and paid for with money from taxes.they are owned by the people,they are not the governments to sell! 

neil
neil from NSW commented:

Governments keep telling us bull about how prices will fall if a government asset is sold off I have never known of one yet eg. water, green slips, and electricity. It has to be remembered these take over companies have to make profits to pay off the loans and keep their share holders happy and pay their CEO's exorbitant wages. 

Carrie
Carrie from NSW commented:

Queenslands water in the south east was sold off my the labour government . My father & daughter both in live Ipswich & Landsborough & now complain about the water costs. 

Garth
Garth from QLD commented:

The problem with asking a group of people over 50 what they think of when "privatisation" is mentioned is that this demographic remember how public (government owned) entities operated in the 50's, 60's and 70's. Public companies have not operated this way for more than a decade. While private (not government owned) companies are required by their shareholders to make a profit, public companies are now required to deliver dividends to their "owner" (the government). While private companies are usually highly regulated in what they can offer and for how much they can sell an essential service for, public companies driven by their bankrupt governments simply demand higher and higher dividends while also making the rules governing those industries. NSW and Queensland have by far the most expensive electricity in Australia where the electricity industry is government owned. Victoria the lowest where Kennett "privatised" in the 1990's. Anyone remember Melbourne to Sydney return flights under government ownership costing over $1,000? now less than $200. Well regulated private companies will ALWAYS be able to deliver better services at lower prices. I pay 9.8c/kWh for private electricity at my home in Texas, 12c/kWh for a business in Alberta, Canada yet 52c/kWh for government owned electricity in Sydney. 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to Garth:

Garth, due to the beginning of your posting . . ."The problem with asking a group of people over 50 . . ." I feel compelled to ask your age . . . and reading the next statement . . . . " . . . . . private companies are now required by shareholders to make profits . . .", does that not answer the whole question in those short words? The PRIVATE enterprises are there to make profits for demanding shareholders. And if that is to work so well, then why does the government RETAIN the geese that lay golden eggs, and open the doors for shareholders to participate in the utilities? Re the 12xkWh available in Alberta, I lived in Saskatchewan for quite some time. Things are worked out differently there, AND wages in Canada are way lower than here. Same as US where it differs again. We must compare apples with apples. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Beverley:

Hi Beverley. Good questions which I am delighted to answer. I am 48, so probably not what you thought. Yes, you are right, private companies are required to make profits. However, the missed point is that public companies (owned or controlled by government) are required to pay "dividends". Dividends can only come from profits and whether it is profits from private or public companies they come from the same source, you and I. By way of illustration, in 2010 the Queensland government took dividends of $50 million from the electricity industry, by 2012, that "dividend" was $3 billion. When did you see any "private" electricity company declare a profit of $3 billion in one year. "Public" companies are nowadays no more than cash cows for their bankrupt government owners who set the dividends required to fit budget demands. As they also make the rules governing those industries, this is a very dangerous position. 

Jude
Jude from NSW commented:

No - leave publicly owned service industries in our hands. Private entities always want to make profit at the cost of service - with the consumer losing out. Our taxes are meant to help support service industries. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

I received a survey yesterday which looked at post offices, mail and parcels. This was obviously to gain opinions about selling off Australia Post. The choices seemed geared to keeping it. Brian NSW 

Geoff
Geoff from NSW commented:

No No. We are sick and tired of governments privatising public utilities. Everything we privatise ends up costing us the tax payer more. Keep Australia Post in Government hands. Hands off. NO MORE SELLING OUR ASSETS! 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Geoff:

Geoff, can you give some examples? 

Geoff
Geoff from NSW replied to Geoff:

Postal services which have been privatised overseas such as Royal Mail and others initially reduce costs of items but provide less options and choices and some don't even deliver mail to indivdual homes. After awhile they start increasing prices. Since our motorways and so called Freeways are now built by private companies every year we are paying higher tolls. Costs approx $20 one way to work in Sydney now. What about Telstra, Commonwealth Bank, etc etc. Sorry I don't buy the rubbish about privatisation. 

Scott
Scott from NSW replied to Geoff:

Geoff, you picked 3 terrible examples to try to prove your erroneous point. Telstra, CBA and Qantas are all far more efficient and far more profitable than they ever were under government ownership. The drain on the public purse has been turned into a flows of taxes to the Govt and dividends to shareholders, the entire economy wins. 

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