Aotearoa New Zealand is at a turning point in the future of its public health system. The decision to outsource ophthalmology services is not a routine administrative step. It is a significant policy shift away from public provision. Under current proposals, private providers may take over core hospital functions, including diagnostics, treatment, planned eye surgeries, and the management of patient pathways and waitlists. This is not simply supporting the public system. It risks replacing it. Public hospitals are also the primary training ground for future ophthalmologists and other specialists. Ophthalmology, like other medical disciplines, relies on an apprenticeship-style model in which trainees gain supervised experience within public hospital services. Shifting core services into private settings risks undermining this training pipeline, weakening the development of the future specialist workforce and further entrenching long-term capacity issues. We are concerned that Privatisation undermines public healthcare. Outsourcing core services shifts control away from public hospitals and into private hands, changing incentives, accountability, and the long-term direction of the system. It will worsen workforce shortages. International evidence shows outsourcing draws clinicians into private practice, weakening the public system rather than fixing capacity issues. At the same time, removing services from public hospitals reduces opportunities for training and mentorship, further constraining workforce development. Equity will suffer. Māori, Pacific, disabled, rural, and low-income communities already face barriers to care. Private delivery models are not designed to meet equity obligations or uphold culturally safe care grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There has been no meaningful consultation. Decisions of this scale require transparent public engagement and genuine partnership with communities, health workers, and iwi Māori. This has not occurred. There has been no adequate consultation and no meaningful engagement with Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations. It sets a dangerous precedent. Normalising private delivery in ophthalmology opens the door to broader privatisation across the health system. We believe Health is a right, not a market commodity. A strong, publicly delivered health system is essential to ensuring universal and equitable access to care. We call on the Government to •  Stop the outsourcing of ophthalmology services immediately •  Invest in rebuilding public health capacity, including workforce development, training pathways, fair pay, and retention •  Ensure services are publicly delivered as the default •  Uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi through genuine partnership with Māori •  Commit to a health system that prioritises equity, access, and public accountability over private profit We also call on all political parties, in this election year, to publicly commit to halting the privatisation of ophthalmology services and to protecting a fully publicly delivered health system for Aotearoa New Zealand. What is at stake This is about more than eye care. It is about the future of public healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand. If left unchecked, this shift will accelerate privatisation and reshape the system in ways that are difficult to reverse — including undermining the training of future specialists and the sustainability of the public workforce. We stand for a health system that serves everyone, not private interests.

This is an equity issue The fuel crisis does not impact all New Zealanders equally. Low-income families are the least able to absorb rising transport costs. The Spinoff has reported that the Government’s own fuel relief package leaves out half of the children living in material hardship. Both urban and rural families face similar challenges - being able to afford to get their kids to school.  “She said attendance was already dropping at some schools, with parents unable to afford to drive children to class. ‘The impact of the fuel disruption on schools is much broader and more complex than attendance figures suggest; however, attendance will absolutely be affected and is already showing signs of pressure in our communities.’” - Lysandra Stuart, New Zealand Principals’ Federation, 25 March 2026 (NZ Herald). University students, especially those in their first year of independence, are similarly challenged. Many have no car and rely entirely on public transport to reach their campuses. A sudden fare increase is not just an inconvenience to them, it is a barrier to their education and their future.  New Zealand has long held the view that education is a right not a privilege. That principle is meaningless if young people cannot afford to get to where their education takes place.  A compounded crisis for rural communities The fuel crisis is hitting both urban and rural families hard. Rural children and young people have no public transport alternatives, they often live far from school, and over the past two years, the Government has systematically cancelled the school bus routes they depend upon. The current fuel crisis has exacerbated these challenges.  The scale of the challenge is significant. The Ministry of Education reviewed 290 school bus routes in 2024, cancelling or amending 39 of them. By September 2025, a total of 66 rural routes were cancelled. Some of these impacted communities included Te Pōhue, Eskview, Clive, Central Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Gisborne and Manawātū. In Gisborne alone, more than 100 students faced losing their transport to school. These cancellations did not happen because the routes were unnecessary, it was because the Government’s eligibility threshold of eight students per route failed to reflect the realities of small, dispersed rural communities.  “In some areas, these cuts are proving absolutely devastating for the communities, it means some people are seriously considering selling their properties and moving closer to town or into town so their children can access education. In rural areas, there’s no public transport options, there’s no footpaths or cycleways, our roads are not safe for kids to be biking to school. There’s a whole raft of issues, and not all parents in rural communities are self-employed. They can’t take an hour off in the morning or change around their day to take kids to school.” - Gill Naylor, Rural Women New Zealand President, 15 October 2024 (NZ Herald/RNZ).  We, the undersigned, are not only calling for free fares on existing urban public transport networks but for a broader commitment to rural school transport. This includes the restoration of cancelled bus routes, an urgent review of the eligibility criteria, and guaranteed funding for school bus services. Ensuring no child or young person in Aotearoa loses access to education regardless of their circumstances or where they live. Full letter can be read here from 12pm Monday 6 April 2026

Every whānau in Kāpiti should have a decent and stable home – one that is warm, dry, accessible, affordable, and secure. A home that allows people in our communities to stay healthy, keep children in school, contribute to our community, and plan for the future. Decent homes should not be a luxury or a market reward. They are essential infrastructure for care, connection, and contribution. Housing changes lives. But right now, Kāpiti is facing a severe and growing housing crisis, with Ōtaki experiencing the highest housing stress in the district.  Private rentals are unaffordable and unavailable in our community. Only 20% of Ōtaki renter households are able to afford the median market rent[1] and there are so few available at a price people can afford. Public and community housing supply is far too low, making up only a small percentage of our housing stock[2]. People experiencing homelessness are increasingly invisible, living in cars, garages, overcrowded homes, boarding houses, or temporary accommodation.  There are around 129 Kāpiti households on the housing register but there are many more whānau experiencing housing stress. Reductions in emergency housing numbers have not translated into permanent, secure homes. Instead we are seeing preventable harm from a lack of secure and genuinely affordable housing: poorer health, disrupted education, economic stress, and fractured communities. Despite the housing crisis deepening in our community, the National-led Government has cancelled new Kāinga Ora homes in Ōtaki and continues to under-resource hapū, iwi and Māori-led housing solutions.  It doesn’t have to be like this.  The Government can make the choice to increase funding for more public housing, support hapū and iwi housing, and reshape our housing system to be for living and not for profit. We call on all political parties to commit to: • Build enough public housing in Kāpiti — starting with Ōtaki: this includes resuming and completing cancelled or stalled Kāinga Ora developments. Then, committing to building at a scale that meets existing and projected needs, not just incremental growth. Kāpiti needs 129 homes to house the whānau on the housing register immediately. • Support community and iwi-led housing solutions: Partner with Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki to support papakāinga and Kaupapa Māori housing. Recognise community housing as an important part of the public housing system, not a silver bullet or stop-gap. • Treat decent homes as essential infrastructure: recognise housing as foundational to health, education, and employment outcomes. Make sure homes are warm, dry, accessible and meet people’s needs across their lifetimes. • Commit to long-term, cross-party solutions: support durable, bipartisan approaches to public housing so progress is not undone by political cycles, providing certainty to councils, iwi, and CHPs so they can plan and build with confidence. When people have decent homes, communities thrive. It means people are healthier, children learn better, whānau are more connected and economically secure, and our collective pool of resources shift from crisis response to crisis prevention. We already have the knowledge, skills, and partnerships to fix this. What is missing is political commitment at the scale required.  About us Our Ōtaki Public Housing Group has come together from a shared concern for the lack of public housing for people in our area. We believe this is a key election issue and want to raise public awareness and political commitment for more public housing. Our vision is "All whānau have decent housing because housing is a right and housing changes lives". We bring locally specific information and attention to Action Station's Public Housing Futures national campaign. Contact us via [email protected] References: 1. Not just a house, a life - Understanding housing need specific to Ōtaki, The Urban Advisory, September 2022  2. Our housing stock is approximately 220 Kāinga Ora homes (88 in Ōtaki), 50 from community housing providers, alongside 118 council units for older people (66 in Ōtaki) (see MHud Housing Dashboard).

The importance of effective violence prevention cannot be overstated: for example, around a third of women in Aotearoa NZ have experienced sexual violence [8] and many more experience non-sexual relationship violence. We need to use all the tools we can to change such entrenched violence.  Thank you for signing and sharing this petition with friends and whānau, in solidarity with all rangatahi, women and targeted groups. Together, we can hold politicians accountable and ensure our young people receive the respect and care they need to flourish.    References [1] 2020 Relationships & Sexuality Education guidelines, Years 1-8: https://insideout.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/RSE_1_to_8_2.pdf  Years 9-13: https://insideout.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/RSE_9_to_13_2.pdf  [2] Consultation on Proposed Health & PE Curriculum including Relationships & Sex Education, closes 24 April 2026. https://newzealandcurriculum.tahurangi.education.govt.nz/new-zealand-curriculum-online/new-zealand-curriculum/learning-areas/health-and-physical-education-curriculum/5637165585.c  Everyone - students, parents, teachers, members of the community - can make their own submission. See Auckland Women’s Centre submission guide here: https://awc.org.nz/2026-rse-submission-guide/ [3] For example, 24 organisations and experts sent an open letter to Minister Stanford in May 2025, criticising the exclusion of gender diversity. https://sexualwellbeing.org.nz/consortium-of-informed-voices-sends-open-letter-on-relationships-and-sexuality-education-to-minister-stanford/ To our knowledge, the Minister has never engaged with the signatories regarding their concerns. Auckland Women’s Centre (and other organisations) have also written to the Minister, and already given feedback on an earlier draft – Auckland Women’s Centre’s submission here: https://awc.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/AWC-to-Minister-Stanford-re-RSE-framework-.pdf The feedback report on the first round of consultation (May 2025) is here:  https://files-au-prod.cms.commerce.dynamics.com/cms/api/qwxsnqcpfm/binary/MLeDUE   [4] Submission re RSE, May 2025, from AP Jade Le Grice, Morgan Tupaea, and Fern Smith, researchers at Te Pūtahi o Pūtaiao | Centre for Kaupapa Māori Science, University of Auckland  [5] Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa media release on the government’s second draft RSE October 2025 https://sexualwellbeing.org.nz/new-curriculum-regressive-and-fractured/ [6] Backbone Collective May 2025 submission https://static1.squarespace.com/static/57d898ef8419c2ef50f63405/t/685874c7e0c5475c87cbe718/1750627527977/RSE+draft+framework+questionnaire+and+letter+to+Minister+of+Education+Erica+Stanford+9+May+Backbone+Collective+%281%29.pdf [7] Education Review Office (2024) Technical report: Review of relationships and sexuality education:.https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/technical-report-review-of-relationships-and-sexuality-education [8] NZ Crimes & Victims Survey 2019, https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/NZCVS-findings-core-report-2018-fin-v1.3-for-release.pdf p82 [9] For example, see Le Grice, J., & Braun, V. (2018). Indigenous (Māori) sexual health psychologies in New Zealand: Delivering culturally congruent sexuality education. Journal of Health Psychology, 23(2), 175-187; Tupaea, M., & Le Grice, J. (2024). Mana Tamaiti: Un/binding gender, sexuality and reproductive autonomy with Mātauranga Māori and intergenerational dialogue. In Gender Un/Bound (pp. 241-255). Routledge.  [10] Hohou te Rongo Kahukura submission on RSE, May 2025.  [11] AWC op ed “Why Women Need to Stand Up for Trans Rights” https://awc.org.nz/why-women-need-to-stand-up-for-trans-rights/ 

Over the last couple of years, the Christchurch Methodist Mission has become increasingly aware of the number of older people in housing distress. We are seeing this in the growing waiting list for our affordable and social housing at Wesley Village, and in the number of older people requiring emergency housing in both Christchurch and Blenheim. Our homelessness outreach team are also observing an increasing number of older people sleeping rough.   By 2050, nearly 400,000 retirees are expected to be renting, with many relying on NZ Super as their sole or primary source of income. However, NZ Super was not designed to sustain people in the private rental market. Already, many older renters are spending more than half their Super on rent alone. Older people have a fundamental right to affordable, accessible, and healthy housing. Yet, figures from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development show that New Zealand is not building enough homes to meet this growing demand. Without urgent Government investment in older persons’ housing, this situation will continue to deteriorate.  We need homes to be built that are: • Affordable • Accessible  • Warm and healthy • Designed to foster cultural connection • Embedded in local communities.  We know the difference that living in such a home makes to physical and mental wellbeing. Health costs are reduced, and people can stay in their homes longer before entering care. Thus, quality, age-friendly homes are a good investment from both a social and economic viewpoint.   The current challenge of older persons’ housing is urgent. Without meaningful intervention, we are headed towards a full-blown crisis. Now is the time to act with foresight, compassion, and courage. Please click the link below to sign our petition and share it within your networks: https://petitions.parliament.nz/7e886066-455b-4ab6-be96-08ddec0a4a41?lang=en

Wellington City should be a place where everyone has a stable, healthy and suitable home whatever their income. A place where children can grow up together and where people can put down roots near the people and places they need to thrive. Housing affects every part of our lives. The stress of short tenancies, week-to-week emergency housing grants, and the looming threat of rental increases has a major impact on people’s wellbeing and working lives. Constant moving to find housing robs whānau of the opportunity to connect with their communities. State housing has and can provide stable, affordable homes for people on lower incomes - from the first ever state house built in Miramar, to the new state housing built in Pukeahu Mt Cook. We know from our own history and from overseas, that when governments play a bigger role in building and providing decent and suitable housing, we lay the foundation for thriving communities. Yet, despite the benefits, successive governments have not built enough homes to meet the growing need in our communities. In Pōneke Wellington: • There are 621 households on the housing register for Wellington City, 585 are considered Priority A (September 2025).[1] • There are 2,766 people in severe housing deprivation in Wellington City which forces people into unsafe and unstable living arrangements.[2] • State housing provider Kāinga Ora is selling sites making this land unavailable for future public housing[3] • And, the Government has cancelled projects and paused other projects, including the 300+ units at Arlington St, Mt Cook[4] There are 400 state homes which have been cancelled in Wellington City[5], including: • Evans Bay Pde, Kilbirnie, Wellington with 30 homes that were going to be Universal Design cancelled • Ngatiapa St, Tukanae St & Rahui St, Strathmore Park, Wellington with 41 homes cancelled • Nuku St, Strathmore Park, Wellington with 28 homes cancelled • Wayside, Miramar, Wellington with 1 home cancelled • Arlington St, Mt Cook with 300 homes, foundations in the ground is pending a decision Only 3 projects continue: • Miller Place, Lyall Bay with 28 homes is proceeding and due for completion in 2027 • Kekerenga St with 3 homes is due for completion in 2026 • Coromandel St, Newtown with 11 homes is due for completion 2026 While these essential public housing developments have been cancelled, the need for decent and secure housing has increased. Downtown Community Ministry recorded a 24% increase in rough sleeping for the first 3 months of 2025 compared to the same time in 2024.[6] Wellington is fortunate that the City Council is involved in housing through Te Toi Mahana, a Community Housing Provider (with 1764 homes) and through Te Kainga housing (370 homes), and with NGO community providers like Dwell (100 tenancies) and Wellington City Mission (70+ transitional units, and rest home and residential care). Despite this, it is still not enough to meet demand and these providers have limited access to funding to build more. The Government has the obligation and the ability to fund housing to meet the needs of all. We need the Government to build more public housing, but to also make the housing they build accessible and suitable for our communities. This means supporting different types of public housing, including using the Housing First approach, which is a proven best practice for supporting whānau who have experienced long-term homelessness and have other challenges, such as mental health and addication. It means housing first, and then wrap-around services for whānau after.[7] Te Ō in Mt Cook is an example of how this is working for Wellington City public housing, through a Single Site Supported Housing model.  If we leave house building to the market, we’ll keep building homes that are not accessible or suitable for our communities - with steps, narrow doorways, and bathrooms that don’t work for many. Through publically-funded housing we can support designs that work for your niece with cerebral palsy, your friend recovering from a stroke, your pregnant sister, your colleague with a broken leg, or your granddad who now uses a walking frame.  Currently, only 4% of our public housing has universal design that are suitable for a wide variety of people, while the housing register has around 19% of people in households who need accessible housing. Kāinga Ora were making commitments to building more accessible homes including the 30 universally designed homes on Evans Bay Pde that have now been cancelled. We ask the House of Representatives and Minister of Housing retain existing housing sites, keep building the promised state houses and to increase public builds at a scale that will ensure stable, permanently affordable and accessible housing for everyone who needs it. References: 1. Housing Register, MSD September 2025 2. Aotearoa Data Explorer, Severe Housing Deprivation Census 2023 Stats NZ  3. Property Sales, Kāinga Ora, 2026 4. Kāinga Ora slashes social housing in Wellington. The Post, 19 June 2025 5. Data from a spreadsheet available in this Information sheet: Project assessments and write downs, Kāinga Ora, June 2025 6. Homelessness Insights Report. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. June 2025  7. Read more about how Housing First works with public housing in Finland here and in Aotearoa here. Pōneke Public Housing Futures is a group of everyday people in Wellington who believe secure, suitable housing is a fundamental right that must be available to everyone with a need. We are concerned that not enough public housing is being built to meet the needs of all in Wellington. Stable affordable housing is the first step needed for everyone to thrive. Currently in New Zealand only 4% of all housing is state or community housing, this is significantly lower than many other countries. We want to see a large increase so that everyone who wants a public or state house can be housed without spending months on a waiting list. 

Over half of New Zealand’s population lives in the Golden Triangle, and it is one of the fastest-growing parts of the country — it makes sense to have a modern, safe and efficient train service between Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.  Te Huia is already showing how passenger rail can help people get to work, study, healthcare, and visit whānau without relying on long, expensive, and often dangerous road trips.  Investing in passenger rail eases congestion, improves road safety, reduces emissions and supports regional growth and tourism. With major rail infrastructure already in place and the City Rail Link opening in 2026, now is the time to build on Te Huia’s foundations — not walk away from them.

A stable, decent home is important for a good life. It supports our safety, our health, and ability to participate in society. It helps us build community connections through our neighbours, local schools, sports, and cultural clubs. It allows us to put down roots and have a sense of belonging.  But successive governments have not done enough to make sure everyone has decent and suitable housing. They have prioritised legislation and policy that helps property investors make profits, while reducing Government’s income. They have underfunded the construction of state housing, meaning there is not enough to meet the need.  This has forced many people, including people in the Hutt Valley, into severe housing need, living in unsafe, unhealthy, and insecure living situations. We have people in our community experiencing hardship because of the price of rental properties, people living in substandard and overcrowded houses or in garages, cars, or parks. The emotional and financial stress due to housing insecurity are added pressures for families and individuals who are among the most vulnerable in our community. To get onto the public housing register (waitlist), you must be in severe housing need. We have hundreds of whānau/households on the public housing waitlist for the Hutt Valley [1]. But it is clear that there is not enough housing available for them.  People are often experiencing long times on the waitlist [2]. There are too few Kāinga Ora homes in the pipeline for the Hutt Valley [3], while existing Kāinga Ora homes are being put up for sale [4] and some planned constructions have been cancelled [5]. And under the Government’s Housing Investment Plan [6], no money has been earmarked for further new Kāinga Ora homes in the area. The Government has indicated that it is looking to the private market to solve the problem of unaffordable housing and housing insecurity [7]. This is unlikely to help the people on the public housing waitlist who need housing now, or to solve the ongoing issue of severe housing deprivation in our community [8].   Together we can change this.  If we make state housing a priority, we can ensure that no one in our community has to experience housing deprivation and that everyone has stable, decent, appropriate housing where they can build a good life for themselves and their families. Let’s tell our local politicians that Hutt Valley people see this as an important issue for the 2026 General Election. Let’s tell our politicians that we want a commitment from them to give Kāinga Ora the resources and the direction that will enable it to get people off the waitlist and into state housing, and meet community need for housing in an ongoing way. You can send this message to our local politicians by signing the petition.  Find out more about the nationwide Public Housing Futures Campaign at: www.publichousingfutures.com   Contact the Hutt Valley Public Housing Futures group at: [email protected] References: [1]  489 households as at November 2025 - 371 for Lower Hutt, 118 for Upper Hutt. Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Development [2]  The average national wait time for people on the public housing register, from their application being accepted to that tenancy being activated was 165 days (5 months) as at October 2025. Source: Housing and Urban Development  [3]  218 homes in the pipeline as at April 2025 - houses are either in construction or proceeding to a detailed business case. Source: Kainga Ora [4]  56 homes have been put up for sale as at September 2025 - 55 in Lower Hutt, 1 in Upper Hutt. Source: Kainga Ora [5] 58 houses cancelled as at June 2025. Source: Kāinga Ora 'Kāinga Ora takes next step in financial reset', 19 June 2025 [6]  Housing Investment Plan 2025. [7]   Kainga Ora Strategy 2025 – 2035, Housing minister Chris Bishop reveals new Kāinga Ora strategy | 4 February 2025 | RNZ, Housing reform in NSW and New Zealand, Chris Minns, Chris Bishop, & Peter Tulip [8] RNZ, ‘Government wants to 'flood the market' to make houses more affordable - how will that work?’, 5 July 2024.  The Conversation, The billions spent on NZ’s accommodation supplement is failing to make rent affordable – so what will?, 24 April 2025. University of Auckland, The flaws in NZ's accommodation supplement, 9 May 2024. 

From 2026, primary schools will report children’s learning using national labels: Emerging · Developing · Consolidating · Proficient · Exceeding For children aged 5–7, this approach is developmentally inappropriate. Learning at this age develops unevenly, at different rates for different children, and early labels often reflect developmental readiness and support needs rather than true understanding or potential. This matters because: • Early learning is non-linear Children aged 4–7 show wide, normal variation in attention, language, memory, and self-regulation. Progress does not happen in neat stages. • The labels describe support levels, not learning ability Terms like Emerging and Developing explicitly reference the amount of support a child needs, which risks equating support needs with lower ability. • Children within the normal developmental range are labelled Many children will sit in Developing or Consolidating simply because their learning is still forming, not because they are behind. • “Developing” and “Consolidating” are easily read as deficit For whānau, these labels are easily interpreted as “not meeting expectations”, even when development is typical. • Neurodivergent children are particularly disadvantaged These children may understand concepts but struggle to demonstrate learning in standardised ways due to differences in communication, processing speed, regulation, or anxiety. • Wellbeing and confidence are affected Early labelling can undermine confidence, increase stress, and discourage children from taking learning risks. • This approach has caused harm before New Zealand previously moved away from national benchmarking systems after evidence showed they narrowed learning and negatively affected wellbeing. Early learning should focus on growth, relationships, and support, not categorising children on a national scale.

We, the general public, and the undersigned clinicians, scientists, and health professionals, call for the urgent reinstatement of basic airborne-infection-control measures—clean indoor air and appropriate airborne respiratory protection —in all healthcare settings across Aotearoa, New Zealand. These are the simplest and most effective tools to prevent avoidable illness, disability, and death among both patients and staff.  Since the withdrawal of SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 mitigations, hospitals and clinics have faced relentless outbreaks of respiratory viruses. Emergency departments are routinely operating beyond safe capacity, and senior doctors have compared recent winters to “mass-casualty situations.” [1] Aotearoa New Zealand’s “vax-and-relax” strategy has failed to protect our people. 1 in 5 children infected with COVID develop long-term symptoms. [2] Nurses and doctors have among the highest global rates of Long COVID [3], and ongoing staff illness contributes to understaffing, treatment delays, and preventable deaths. There are currently no adequate systems in place to support long COVID and post-viral disease in New Zealand, and instead, patients are met with medical gaslighting and a lack of medical and social support. [4] COVID-19 causes vascular damage and damage to every organ in the body, including the brain and heart, due to its ability to target endothelial tissues. [5] It wreaks havoc on the immune system, leading to an impaired response to future immune assaults. This has led to the rise of more severe responses to other illnesses, worsening of current conditions, outbreaks of recurrent infections (including fungal and bacterial), thus increasing pressure on emergency medical services. [6] Excuses such as "immunity debt” are not scientifically substantiated; in fact, all viruses damage rather than enhance the immune system, for example, both SARS-CoV-2 and influenza at least triple the risk of heart attacks. [7] The effects of viruses have been missed, overlooked, and minimised, leading to a culture of indifference and ignorance surrounding the impacts of catching regular viruses, including in healthcare settings and a reluctance to change following the ever-growing body of research that shows viruses can cause more significant harm than first thought.  We strongly believe that every person in Aotearoa New Zealand has a right to access safe healthcare without the risk of catching a deadly or disabling virus. This falls under our legal right to health, including access to timely and appropriate healthcare. Additionally, every healthcare worker has the right to a safe workplace and working conditions that support them to stay home when sick. [8] Treating airborne infection as a matter of “personal responsibility” violates these rights and undermines public trust. Critically, for the best prevention possible, fit-tested respirator masks (N95/FFP2 and N100/FFP3) must become the standard in all health care settings. Surgical masks are proven not to be effective against aerosolised respiratory viruses. [9] According to the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), it is a breach of health and safety standards to claim that surgical masks protect against inhaled hazards.  Like sterile surgical gloves or seatbelts, respirators and ventilation are proven life-saving norms —not restrictions on freedom, but tools that enable freedom through safety. We respectfully urge the Ministry of Health Manatū Hauora, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand and the government and other regulatory bodies in charge of these regulations to implement the following evidence-based protections: 1. Use proven mitigations to prevent the spread of respiratory and other aerosol viruses at all times.  2. The return of mandatory protections for aerosolised viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 at all times, not just during a known ward outbreak, in all clinical spaces. Including visitors, staff and patients (where medically possible). 3. Respirators, i.e N95's or equivalent, not surgical masks, are to be used as the default mask practice (this is because surgical masks are not PPE for respiratory viruses.)  4. Paid sick leave and safer staffing levels so infected staff can stay home until they are no longer infectious and are well enough to safely perform their duties. 5. Return to regular COVID testing in emergency departments and wards. Including the numbers of patients and staff catching viruses like COVID-19 in hospitals, and nationally, the number of Long Covid cases and associated pathologies.  6. Mechanical ventilation and HEPA filtration in all patient-care spaces, operated at all times rather than reactively and ensure safe CO2 levels in each space. 7. Education on the importance of masking, different types of masks, their effectiveness and the proven damaging effects of COVID-19 infections. This information needs to be shared regularly with the public. 8. Increase funding, clinical care and community support for Long Covid and associated pathologies such as ME/CFS, POTS, Cognitive issues and more.  (Please read the full letter for all details and recommendations) Health is a collective responsibility. Allowing uncontrolled viral spread threatens not only individual lives but the sustainability of the entire health system. By restoring clean-air standards and airborne viral protection, Aotearoa can once again lead the world in compassionate, science-based public health. A final note to anyone in healthcare, you do not need to wait for another mandate to start masking with the best tools we have to protect yourself and patients and the community today.  Thank you! From Mask Up NZ in association with Aotearoa Covid Action. This petition is dedicated to Alice Wong, Leslie Lee III, and anyone who has lost their lives or had their health impacted by viral spread in a health care setting. (contact: [email protected]) References [1] https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360816342/ [2] https://doi.org/10.1111/jpc.70104 [3] https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqae113 [4] https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/577991/ [5] https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.9540 [6] https://whn.global/scientific/the-long-term-immune-effects-of-covid/ [7] https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.125.042670 [8] https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2015/0070/latest/DLM5976660.html [9] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(24)00192-0/fulltext  

Dear Minister Simeon Brown We write to you as transgender and takatāpui young people of Aotearoa New Zealand to ask you to reconsider your decision to ban the use of puberty blockers (gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues) by transgender young people.   To be transgender or takatāpui is a taonga. To deny our young people access to life-saving medication on the basis of an imported culture war is cruel and abhorrent. Trans young people are some of our most at-risk youth. Not because of who they are, but because of how our society treats them for something they have no control over.    Denying our rangatahi an effective medication that gives them the time to discover who they are is needlessly cruel. According to Counting Ourselves 2022, 77% of trans people experience high or very high psychological distress, compared to just 12% of the general population. When compared to the fact that 95% of trans youth have a positive impact on their mental health from the use of puberty blockers, how could such a vital medical intervention be ignored?     This decision is an infringement on human rights and medical autonomy, as stated by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata The Human Rights Commission. Denying access to essential healthcare for trans and takatāpui youth is going to cause unnecessary harm and distress to not just young people but to their whanau as well. The fact that it is only our gender diverse youth that are denied this care, and not the general population, is clear discrimination designed to target our most vulnerable.   We urge you to reconsider your decision and put our young people’s health ahead of politics. Sincerely Lauren Craig & Ngahuru Autumn Brown

I care deeply about this issue because I have seen firsthand how ACC delays, lost documents, and repeated administrative failures cause real harm to ordinary New Zealanders. The image above is the beginning of our story — a child fighting for life while a system meant to protect us repeatedly failed. Our petition speaks not only for her, but for every whānau still trying to survive the consequences of ACC’s neglect. When decisions take months or years, families are left without income, without treatment, and without answers. These are not isolated mistakes — they are systemic failures affecting people from every region and every background. No New Zealander should suffer financially or emotionally because an agency did not meet its basic responsibilities. Timely decisions and clear accountability are not luxuries; they are the foundation of a fair and trustworthy public system.  This reform is about ensuring that every person in Aotearoa is treated with dignity, urgency, and justice.