The Ministry of Health announced last year that they will work with researchers and other paediatric experts to develop a programme using pēpi pods, to help save babies lives. But as the programme stands only certain babies (the most vunerable) will get access to them, not all babies. Recent research released findings showed that pepi pods/wahakura are safe and in fact significantly increased the level of breastfeeding, as the baby is in arms reach. (Read the full article here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11779101) It's super that we now have the science to back us up and this makes our case for the government rolling out a nationwide scheme even stronger! What we need to do now is gather our voices, make noise, spread the word and collect more signatures to make this campaign bigger and bolder. Let's tell the government that all New Zealand babies/pepi are precious and deserve a safe space to sleep in. We demand action! If you haven't already, you can write to the Minister or give his office a call, as it’ll let him know that we’re not going away. Here are his details: (email) jonathan.coleman@parliament (phone) 09 419 8021 Please can you share this message with your family, friends, colleagues and all people who love babies. --------------------------- New Zealand has the worst rate of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) in the industrialised world. Every year 50 babies die from SUDI, with half being accidentally smothered by parents. Māori babies are eight times more likely to die from accidental suffocation because of high smoking rates and the cultural custom of bed-sharing. A sleeping device, a wahakura or pēpi-pod, was designed in 2006 to prevent deaths while bed-sharing. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11673356 Pēpi-pods/wahakura allow parents or caregivers to sleep close to their babies while allowing pēpi to stay safe in their own individual space. Being close to your baby is important to be able to respond sensitively and remain in tune during the first few weeks of life. Pēpi-pods/wahakura support cultural values of co-sleeping within our Māori and Pacific families and communities. Internationally renowned cot death expert Professor Ed Mitchell, of the University of Auckland, believed in the device from day one. "When David [Tipene-Leach] first invented the wahakura, I stuck my neck out very early on and supported this Māori initiative," he says. With the right prevention strategies in place, such as a national pēpi-pod programme and targeted anti-smoking campaigns, Mitchell believes New Zealand's SUDI rate could be cut down from 50 deaths a year to as few as five. "In my heart, I know we can get it down.".http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11670826 The recent fall in post perinatal mortality in New Zealand and the Safe Sleep programme. Mitchell EA, Cowan S, Tipene-Leach D. The deaths of babies in New Zealand in their first month of life was reduced by 29% from 2009-2015. The reduction was most prominent in Māori infants. This recent fall is likely to be due to a combination of strategies including; pēpi-pods/wahakura and educational intiatives. Over 16, 500 pēpi-pods/wahakura have been distributed nationwide due to this safe sleep programme. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27254483

This is a historic opportunity to do the right thing by the women – and men – doing low-paid and crucial work. Join us and make a stand for equal pay. Because It’s Time.

The local petitions for each DHB area were handed in to Parliament in May 2017! Read the story of the local volunteers and their campaign to Save our Public Health system: 'Health volunteers step it up a level' https://medium.com/actionstation/our-volunteer-campaigners-step-it-up-a-level-ebe7fdc8ea74 Background "It's very dangerous. If this continues we will slide into an American-style healthcare system." - Phil Bagshaw (Canterbury Charity Hospital founder and editorial co-author of the report: Funding New Zealand's healthcare system). We all want our friends and family to be happy and in good health. When illness or accidents happen, we want to know they can get the healthcare they need, when they need it. But the government has been underfunding our public healthcare system for almost a decade, putting good health and peace of mind out of reach for hundreds of thousands of people. Today, our Health Budget is missing $1.85 billion in vital funds. [1] These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Each funding cut represents a person who might not receive a hip operation, cancer screening, counselling service or hospital bed because they can’t be funded. Here are the facts: * One in nine Kiwis are not getting the GP care they need because they cannot afford it. [2] * There has been an almost 300 percent increase in crisis mental health referrals over the past five years and mental health workers are struggling to cope. [3] * $1.85 billion is the increase in funding required to restore our overall health budget to the same proportion of the economy (GDP) as it was in the year to June 2010 when the underfunding crisis began​​. The Government could afford to fund our healthcare system properly. They choose not to. In fact, the reported government surplus is almost exactly the same amount as the amount of underfunding. Please take action today and sign your name. ​Together we can ensure Aotearoa New Zealand has a public health care system we can all be proud of. --- References: [1] Did the Budget provide enough for health 2016? CTU Budget Analysis (please note the figures used in this study were conservative and we’ve since spoken to the authors who gave us the updated figure of $1.85b) [2] Half a million Kiwis not receiving healthcare because of costs, Ged Cann, Stuff News, 3rd November 2016 [3] Mental health workers struggling to cope, RNZ, 7th June 2016

"It's very dangerous. If this continues we will slide into an American-style healthcare system." - Phil Bagshaw (Canterbury Charity Hospital founder and editorial co-author of the report: Funding New Zealand's healthcare system). We all want our friends and family to be happy and in good health. When illness or accidents happen, we want to know they can get the healthcare they need, when they need it. But the government has been underfunding our public healthcare system for almost a decade, putting good health and peace of mind out of reach for hundreds of thousands of people. Today, our Health Budget is missing $1.85 billion in vital funds. [1] These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Each funding cut represents a person who might not receive a hip operation, cancer screening, counselling service or hospital bed because they can’t be funded. Here are the facts: * One in nine Kiwis are not getting the GP care they need because they cannot afford it. [2] * There has been an almost 300 percent increase in crisis mental health referrals over the past five years and mental health workers are struggling to cope. [3] * $1.85 billion is the increase in funding required to restore our overall health budget to the same proportion of the economy (GDP) as it was in the year to June 2010 when the underfunding crisis began​​. The Government could afford to fund our healthcare system properly. They choose not to. In fact, the reported government surplus is almost exactly the same amount as the amount of underfunding. Please take action today and sign your name. ​Together we can ensure Aotearoa New Zealand has a public health care system we can all be proud of. --- References: [1] Did the Budget provide enough for health 2016? CTU Budget Analysis (please note the figures used in this study were conservative and we’ve since spoken to the authors who gave us the updated figure of $1.85b) [2] Half a million Kiwis not receiving healthcare because of costs, Ged Cann, Stuff News, 3rd November 2016 [3] Mental health workers struggling to cope, RNZ, 7th June 2016

The local petitions for each DHB area were handed in to Parliament in May 2017! Read the story of the local volunteers and their campaign to Save our Public Health system: 'Health volunteers step it up a level' https://medium.com/actionstation/our-volunteer-campaigners-step-it-up-a-level-ebe7fdc8ea74 Background "It's very dangerous. If this continues we will slide into an American-style healthcare system." - Phil Bagshaw (Canterbury Charity Hospital founder and editorial co-author of the report: Funding New Zealand's healthcare system). We all want our friends and family to be happy and in good health. When illness or accidents happen, we want to know they can get the healthcare they need, when they need it. But the government has been underfunding our public healthcare system for almost a decade, putting good health and peace of mind out of reach for hundreds of thousands of people. Today, our Health Budget is missing $1.85 billion in vital funds. [1] These are not just numbers on a spreadsheet. Each funding cut represents a person who might not receive a hip operation, cancer screening, counselling service or hospital bed because they can’t be funded. Here are the facts: * One in nine Kiwis are not getting the GP care they need because they cannot afford it. [2] * There has been an almost 300 percent increase in crisis mental health referrals over the past five years and mental health workers are struggling to cope. [3] * $1.85 billion is the increase in funding required to restore our overall health budget to the same proportion of the economy (GDP) as it was in the year to June 2010 when the underfunding crisis began​​. The Government could afford to fund our healthcare system properly. They choose not to. In fact, the reported government surplus is almost exactly the same amount as the amount of underfunding. Please take action today and sign your name. ​Together we can ensure Aotearoa New Zealand has a public health care system we can all be proud of. --- References: [1] Did the Budget provide enough for health 2016? CTU Budget Analysis (please note the figures used in this study were conservative and we’ve since spoken to the authors who gave us the updated figure of $1.85b) [2] Half a million Kiwis not receiving healthcare because of costs, Ged Cann, Stuff News, 3rd November 2016 [3] Mental health workers struggling to cope, RNZ, 7th June 2016

When people are in desperate need, Winz loan people money so they can rent out a motel room as emergency housing. [1] People then have to repay the debt, and many say that is just not possible. This is a ridiculous and inhumane policy in effect locking people who are already in such dire straits that they are homeless, into further debt. Furthermore, it does nothing to solve the housing crisis and is open to exploitation by the Motel owners, and the people themselves have little choice but to agree. Take Nicole in the picture, who is living in a motel with her three children, including an eight-week-old baby, but the family is facing the real possibility of having to live in a car. https://www.youtube.com/embed/vxTATpTGaVU Nicole is among many Work and Income (Winz) clients who are being put up in $190-a-night motels because there simply isn't enough emergency housing to cope with the demand, a ministry source says. All of them will have to pay the motel costs back even if they can't afford it. [2] This needs to change. Sign the petition. References: 1) Homeless borrow thousands for motels, RadioNZ, 17 May 2016 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/304122/homeless-borrow-thousands-for-motels 2) Eight-week-old baby among hundreds homeless, RadioNZ, 18 May 2016 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/304200/eight-week-old-baby-among-hundreds-homeless

**LATEST NEWS** We delivered the petition! On 3 May the petition was accepted by Labour Party Deputy Leader Jacinda Ardern and MP Phil Twyford. This has now been referred to the Social Services Committee for consideration on the 21st of June. We will of course be right there asking why we don't have a member of parliament directly responsible for homelessness. Thank you so much for your support to get effective strategy to end homelessness in New Zealand. We’ll keep you updated as the petition goes through the Select Committee process, as there will be opportunities to take action once again. While the petition is closed you can sign to receive updates of future events in the campaign to end homelessness in New Zealand. You can watch Jacinda Ardern’s FB live recording of the presentation here: https://www.facebook.com/jacindaardern/videos/10154326485732441/?pnref=story News coverage by the NZ Herald and Maori Television: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11849240 and https://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/petition-calls-end-homelessness-nz We are in a housing crisis. Skyrocketing house prices and the cost of living mean one in 100 New Zealanders are now homeless, including children, the elderly and young families. [1] Over the course of the last year we’ve seen far too many harrowing stories of families forced to live on the streets, in cars, or crammed into garages. [2] A recent inquiry found that the current level of homelessness in New Zealand is "larger than any other time in recent memory and is continuing to grow". [3] It’s never been worse, and the Government needs to act. It's time for a comprehensive plan to end homelessness. The recent cross-party enquiry has made 20 recommendations, with the core recommendation being create a national strategy to address homelessness. But the Government’s has brushed them off, saying homelessness has always been a problem, and that they are already solving it. It’s not good enough. We are in a crisis, and we demand action. Will you join us to demand immediate national action to end New Zealand’s homelessness crisis? Want to support us more? Don't forget to follow us on Facebook. www.facebook.com/GimmeShelterNZ References: [1] http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/305536/one-in-100-nzers-are-homeless-study [2] [3] http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/85147550/Govt-must-find-political-will-to-tackle-homelessness-cross-party-inquiry

E-scooters on footpaths are a danger to all pedestrians. However, disabled people, older people and children are at particular risk of being hit by e-scooters on footpaths.This risk is real – since the introduction of e-scooters, disabled people have been injured and hospitalised. Many disabled and older people say they feel unsafe and are afraid to walk in our city centres and their neighbourhoods because of the danger posed by e-scooters on footpaths. People who are blind, deafblind, low vision or vision impaired are at serious risk of injury from falling over e-scooters left lying on the footpath or walking in areas e-scooters are being ridden. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people have been shocked at something they can’t hear suddenly rushing past them. The impact of e-scooters should not be minimised! They are vehicles with the potential to cause injury and should be treated as such. According to the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the bill for e-scooter-related injuries for the four years to October 2022 was $30 million, with an average cost per claim of $2,931. However, even if only a few percent of e-scooter injuries are to pedestrians, we also need to recognise the cost of lost opportunity and the risk of social isolation disabled and older pedestrians experience. Why? Because their fear of e-scooters on footpaths prevents them from being out and about getting to and from places and spaces. The need to address safety issues around e-scooters and regulate their use is being recognised internationally. Earlier this year the European Transport Safety Council recommended that no e-scooters be ridden on pavements, saying that “Pedestrians, especially the elderly and those who are visually impaired, are at risk of harm from vehicles sharing the same space.” Waka Kotahi is currently consulting on whether to renew the declaration that exempts e-scooters from being motor vehicles and allows them to be ridden on footpaths. Disabled Persons Assembly (DPA), Blind Citizens NZ, and Living Streets Aotearoa are calling on Waka Kotahi to not renew this declaration and to get these dangerous vehicles off our footpaths. Your support will help create safer streets for everyone! It will keep footpaths for feet and mobility device users. DPA will include this petition in its submission to Waka Kotahi. Sign the petition to show your support of getting e-scooters off our footpaths. Find out more information about the Waka Kotahi e-scooter declaration renewal decision. Want to do more? You can also have your say and share experiences of e-scooters on footpaths by: • emailing DPA at: [email protected] • emailing Blind Citizens NZ at: [email protected] • filling out the survey on the E-scooter declaration renewal decision page.

Otters are an important part of our eco-system and they are indanger

On the night of February 24th Russia invaded Ukraine. The cities were bombed. Civilians murdered. The actions of the Russian army forcibly displaced people. At this rate, the situation looks set to become Europe’s largest refugee crisis this century.(1) While the world seeks to find a way out of the turmoil of war in Europe, something New Zealand can do right now is to provide refuge and security to Ukrainians who have had their lives overturned by the Russian invasion. As a community of Ukrainians-Kiwis together with our fellow Kiwi friends we ask the New Zealand Government to do the right thing and help our family members and other innocent people fleeing the war. Other countries including the UK, Canada and Australia have already provided some or all of the above pathways for resettlement, New Zealand needs to also do our part.(2,3,4) References: 1. UNHRC United Nations Refugee Agency https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2022/3/621deda74/unhcr-mobilizing-aid-forcibly-displaced-ukraine-neighbouring-countries.html 2. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/further-support-for-ukrainians-fleeing-russia-invasion 3.https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/response_conflict-reponse_conflits/crisis-crises/ukraine.aspx?lang=eng https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/nearly-4-000-ukrainian-immigration-applicants-approved-to-come-to-canada-minister-1.5799622 4. https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-promises-places-for-refugees-fleeing-war-in-ukraine-20220227-p5a02e.html

We care about our community. We want everyone to survive Covid. Border patrols help to slow the spread of the Delta variant, and give time for us to increase our vaccinations rates so we can be as protected as possible. Reference: Iwi-led border controls back in Northland as region enters alert level 3 https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/453220/iwi-led-border-controls-back-in-northland-as-region-enters-alert-level-3

My older neighbours remember enjoying swimming at Evans Bay beach. And people gather there spontaneously but not safely, when dolphins - and recently even a whale - swim there. But this is not safe as at the moment because the very busy four lanes of Cobham Drive divide the people living in neighbouring communities from Evans Bay. We need a safe crossing so that: - Kids from Miramar, Maupuia and the rest of the peninsula can get to school in Kilbirnie, and the ASB sports centre, safely and under their own steam. - All people living in Rongotai, Kilbirnie, Lyall Bay and Melrose can again enjoy and look after their Evans' Bay waterfront, - Maybe our kids will be able to swim there one day - People in neighbouring areas can get to the peninsula and its new regional park safely on foot and by bike. Please help us get to 100 signatures so that we can ask our local city councillors to prioritise this.