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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

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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SUSAN GILLIAN
SUSAN GILLIAN from QLD commented:

The family home should be totally exempt. People choose the investment option of home ownership and they hope their investment will grow with no allowance for deductions. They add value to their investment by maintaining it and adding improvements/renovations - all non tax deductible. If the rules are to be changed then home owners need to be able to claim deductions for the cost of improvements and maintenance i.e. mow the lawn each week - claim. Water the property - claim. Add a room - claim. 

Ian
Ian from QLD commented:

Good one Anne.. 1 Hour on and I am still laughing. 

Ian
Ian from QLD commented:

Good one Anne.. 1 Hour on and I am still laughing. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

As may have said politicians still enjoy an FBT free 'packaging of their remuneration and have a very remunerated superannuation scheme. But the greater community has also to take some of this burden. I am over 60 but would still agree to a cap of say $100,000 or thereabouts as an annual tax free income . Tax at lower rates above that. Yes consider the first house as part of your asset base for pensions. Limit the negative gearing amounts to a flat amount. Its a unique Australian incentive whereby there is no or limited help in getting your first house but if you are rich you get a tax leg up for your second house onwards. Having lived in other countries this is Crazy! And YES all of the citizens of the "western' countries need to get off this welfare mentality. Some one has to pay taxes to support these handouts! 

Jennifer
Jennifer from NSW commented:

I realise we need to find ways to save money and cut back so why do we pay for MP's well after they have so called retired. There is so many privileges we pay for these retired MP's. The rest of us go out on our superannuation or pension and have to just use that. They not just get the pay out but all the frills to go with it. Not just one but all of them year after year and it goes on until they die. They only have to spend one term in Government to get all these privileges. 

Someone
Someone from QLD commented:

It's interesting to see politician reducing the benefit and some should be reduced but the pension leave it. Who's this stop the politician for being In tittle to getting there superannuation until their 65 one other thing keep it up LNP and you will never see a second term 

Laureen
Laureen from QLD commented:

I received this email, my previous post, that is being forwarded to all who are interested. I have condensed it down because of too many characters to fit into comment box. However I think it gives the message. 

Laureen
Laureen from QLD commented:

I paid good money for my Pension and other benefits. Just because they borrowed that money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or hand-out. Gold plated MP pensions and Civil Service Government benefits, aka free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, 20 weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call me a 'greedy pensioner' and my retirement, an 'entitlement'... Someone please tell me what the HELL is wrong with all the people that run this country We're "broke" & can't help our own Pensioners, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc., but spent 1.2 billion $$$'s for G-20 events! In the last few months we have provided aid to India, Greece and Turkey . And now Afghanistan , Pakistan ..... home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of Dollars Our retirees living on a 'fixed income', receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organisations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$'s and tons of food to foreign countries. They call Old Age Security and Healthcare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives, and now when it's time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place? AUSTRALIA: a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, hospitals being closed, average income families who can't afford dental care, elderly going without 'needed' meds and having to travel hundreds of miles for medical care with no reimbursement of cost, vehicles we can't afford fuel for, lack of affordable housing, and mentally ill without treatment - etc., etc. They have a 'benefit' for the people of foreign countries...ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors, and medical supplies. Imagine if the GOVERNMENT gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries. 

Lorraine
Lorraine from QLD replied to Laureen:

Well put Laureen from Qld 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Here Here Kent I agree! Phase out all the pollies benefits. They are voted out and they get a huge golden hand shake for their retirment. My husband and I are a childless working couple contributing to the tax system and get "zip"! the curent govt when voted out should offer to pay the farmers what they will get when turfed out! Yes scale doiwn all the benefits to the current generation but the baby boomers really have done their bit! 

keith
keith from QLD commented:

Why is it that living in Queensland as a pensioner we do not get as many entitlements as other States ? i.e in NSW they get one car registration "free" 

Beverley
Beverley from NSW replied to keith:

Think car rego is a state "gift/concession" Keith. Checked online and as I read it, believe there is a form you can fill out and submit with your pension card for discount. Hope this helps and it is right! :) 

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