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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

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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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Carrie
Carrie from NSW commented:

As for selling assets & it benefiting consumers, just ask anyone in Queensland how much they are paying for water now it is out of government hands. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Carrie:

Really Carrie I have lived in Queensland for over 10 years and my water has always been and remains supplied by a government corporation. I moved from Victoria where my water was supplied by a private company and got the shock of my life when I found that the "government" supplied water was more that double the price of the "privately" supplied water in Victoria and they were having drought at the time I left. 

Ann
Ann from NSW commented:

I had 2 super accounts with the paltry sum of $43,000 all up. I signed up with RBSMorgan. I've made almost $10,000 profit in about 8 months and very happy. I came upon them by word of mouth from a friend that I would trust with all my assests. I get emails about stocks that I may be interested in and then I can ring and talk to my manager about said shares if I want to buy or sell and I rely on his advice as he seems to be on the money so far. Extremely happy with my super. 

Stephen
Stephen from NSW commented:

We have been slowly and painfully loosing AUSTRALIA over the years from governments that want less do deal with Australia. We are loosing our identity. 

Brian
Brian from NSW commented:

brian from nsw . roger, re the price of electricity , the prev,s govt. nsw. borrowed around 17 bill. againest the assetts poles and wires . they are paying the debit off with our electricity bills , the assetts are valued at arround 25 bill.. if they sell it they get arrond 8 bill. or so 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

No No No No No keep this a public owned company. 

Peter
Peter from NSW commented:

Anonymous from NSW commented No No also and keep it as public companies and it is only a short term solution to a long term problem that the State and Federal sell it off and how about we sell their assets off to recover the money they would get for it 

Alan
Alan from NSW commented:

OK Rod Sims, perhaps you can explain why 27 of the 28 US states are now trying to bring their electricity companies back in to public ownership, after privatizing them some years ago. If that's too difficult for you, I'll give you a hint...the rising costs charged by the private companies. So much for the junkets that generally justified by calling them fact finding missions or study tours. Also why did the stupid NSW govt. decide to sell off the lotteries, they were getting a windfall for doing absolutely nothing. 30% of the take to the organizers, 30% to the govt. and 40% back to the mug punter. Money for nothing. Selling off any public asset, whether it be state or federal, generally results in short term gain for long term pain. As for selling to pay off debt, perhaps that person should look at why we are in debt. As with families, you rid yourself of debt by saving, not by selling your possessions. 

Garth
Garth from QLD replied to Alan:

Alan, the USA has 50 States not 28. What you are referring to is not States trying to "bring their electricity companies back to public ownership" it is individual communities - Boulder Colorado as an example trying to buy back their local grids (poles and wires). The main reason for this is that the utility puts unreasonable restrictions on the amount of renewable energy that they will allow on the local grid. The theory goes that if a community "buys back" their local grid, they will be able to permit more wind, solar and hydro into the energy mix. Yes, the electricity will cost more (a relative term compared to Aussie electricity prices) but those communities have decided it is worth it for the environmental or feel-good benefit. There is also a lot of this going on in Germany. What is not happening anywhere is private companies being purchased by governments to put electricity companies back into public ownership. There would be no government, Federal, State or local anywhere in the western world with that amount of cash hanging around (except, perhaps Norway with its sovereign wealth fund). 

Ian
Ian from NSW commented:

Australia post parcel delivery is already privatized. I Iive at Coffs Harbour 7 the contractor who is supposed to deliver parcels around the area I live at refuses to deliver any parcels, instead he just delivers a card telling you that you have a parcel at the PO. This is very inconvenient to people like me who are old pensioners & don't drive, also I have heard of single parent mums who have to pack up the kids & drag them down to the post office to get their parcels.... is this fair ???????? 

john
john from NSW commented:

Why is meat so expensive when farmers are only getting if they are lucky, $2.20 a kg. Out of this they have to pay cartage, yard fees & ID ear tags. Not to mention the feed & animal health products to raise them. Yes I know there is wastage, but please most cuts are over $20 a kg. I saw eye fillet in Coles for $56 a kg. Meat is flown into Dubai & is still cheaper there then here. 

Someone
Someone from NSW replied to john:

Ah yes. Many things produced in Australia can and are sold at a lower price overseas.But why not charge us more? We moan softly once or twice and keep on buying.We are, as a whole, a weak, manipulated, knackered,. powerless mob and our masters and betters know it oh so well. They also know we are truly angry for a couple of minutes and then quickly distracted by the throwing of a shrimp on the BBQ or the cricket. Yep, we are treated as we allow ourselves to be treated., as we deserve to be treated. 

nicolas
nicolas from NSW commented:

nick from nsw my opinion the government should privatise every thing and concentrate of running the country,its the only way the country can get out of debt. 

Christine
Christine from NSW replied to nicolas:

Nicolas you must be joking or just wanting someone like me to bite, well I'm biting. Privatising is not the answer prices will increase even more, after all we are really giving the CEO's a wage increase and they don't deserve it, we the workers deserve the wage increase. Remember how Abbott the mouth did nothing but whinge when Labour were in? now where's Abbott hiding, his mouth is shut and treating the public like mushrooms telling us nothing. Selling off is not the answer we need to keep our public sector with the government, and remember also Hockey wants to increase our debt, I don't here anyone complaing with the Libs doing this. Come on Australians stand up and be counted voice you opinion and be heard. and thank goodness for Dick Smith, also Isn't it nice to have our 50up club that can hunt for deals for us to compare! 

Scott
Scott from NSW replied to nicolas:

You're dead right Nick. Governments can't run businesses efficiently nor profitably. When Qantas was privatised 5000 administrative staff were sacked, and nothing changed within the business, they produced nothing, and added no value. Governments should govern, not try to run businesses with thousand and thousands of unproductive staff. 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW commented:

Bit like if we can have a solar panel on roadside telephones . . . why not a light pole? Why do we need cables for street lighting? My tiny garden lights have an inch square panel which keeps them burning for maybe 8-9 hours if not more - summer and winter! Im no economist Roger but maybe . . . . . too many private operators? . . . all looking for a slice of the action? Treating us like morons. Because we once trusted suppliers to do the right thing by us. When we check out fine print for deals? On the surface, everyone offers something different - less expensive, more discounts - then when you are locked in . . . the sky's the limit? and when one (supplier) finds a loophole the others get on the bandwagon with another ploy - bit like schoolyard tactics "my dad can do better than yours!" and before you know it we have a generation of superheroes. And service and supply is not the name of the game . . . it is all about the bottomline. 

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