Vic: Baillieu family and nurses dispute

The Age 7 March 2012

There has been a lot of talk about respect during the nurses' dispute, but there was not much in evidence yesterday as a group of protesting nurses came face to face with a prominent member of Ted Baillieu's family.

Six nurses had gathered outside the Baillieu Library at Melbourne University, where the Premier was launching the biography of family legend William Lawrence Baillieu.

As the Premier took to the microphone, the nurses started chanting outside, with one using a megaphone to condemn his handling of the 120-day dispute.

The Premier's second cousin and former federal Liberal MP Marshall Baillieu, 74, appeared at the window to let the nurses know what he thought of their behaviour.

''He came and stuck two fingers up at us at the same time, he was giving us 'the bird' with two hands at a time,'' said Megan Hayes, the nurse with the megaphone.

''Then he put his hand up to his ear as if he couldn't hear us, and was mouthing something at us, but I'm not a lip reader so I don't know what he was saying,'' Ms Hayes said.

''At that stage I said, 'Wow, that's really mature', but after he did it again, some of the other nurses were getting quite angry so I said to them, 'Just smile and wave at him.' ''

When contacted about the incident, Marshall Baillieu, who is also chairman of the Baillieu financial firm Mutual Trust, chuckled, before explaining his gestures were triggered by the nurses' ''highly offensive behaviour'' at a private family event.

Ms Hayes said that during the exchange she could see the Premier's head in the background. When it was over, Marshall Baillieu walked away to join the party where morning tea was being served.

Ms Hayes said the incident made her question how much the Premier respected nurses. ''If this one head of their family feels this way about us, it makes me wonder if this is how the entire family feels about us?''

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