Social work is an integral part of our health and social service sectors. Whether you think of a ward in a hospital, a women’s refuge, a primary health organisation, a school, emergency accommodation, child protection or one of a hundred other settings, we are there. Our profession brings a unique skill set to the table, synthesising theories of social work, social sciences, humanities and indigenous knowledges. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. We are a strong and important profession, who play a vital role in supporting families and communities as well as challenging the systemic injustices that generate inequalities. We are worthy of recognition and protection from erosion, undervaluation and manipulation. Yet the Social Work Registration Bill currently before the house does not recognise the complexity and importance of our work. The Bill ignores the views of the overwhelming majority of the sector. It conveys a strong message that social work is vague, confusing, unimportant and fundamentally, unskilled. The Bill does not define or reference a scope of practice for social work. It makes registration virtually meaningless. And it means if your job title includes the words “social work” or “social worker”, you’re covered – and if it doesn’t, you aren’t. And as if that weren’t confusing enough, there are exemptions for some people even if they do have that job title. The end result: the public can’t be sure if the person they’re dealing with is qualified, skilled and accountable. We reject the idea repeated by the select committee and Ministers that the practice of social work is difficult to define. This work has been done by our international community and by our social work registration board. If anything else is needed we have more than enough skill and knowledge in our community to define and articulate our own work. It’s laughable to imagine a situation where an employer decides who can call themselves a nurse, or a dentist, or a lawyer. The same should apply for social work. It will create a situation where employers can pay lower wages and cut corners to avoid paying registration and supervision. It will only be a matter of time before this leads to a critical incident within our communities as the quality of practice is diminished in favour of affordability. This bill is outrageous and shows how far we still have to go in valuing work traditionally seen as “women’s work.” If you think that social work can be done by anyone and is not highly complex, skilled and emotionally demanding work we urge you to go into the field with a social worker. If you vote this bill through to law, you will cripple our profession. We urge you to urgently redraft the bill taking into account the views of those working in the sector. We are, after all, the experts in our own work. The Social Work Community of Aotearoa New Zealand and our allies. Social workers call for govt to scrap registration bill 24 April 2018 https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/355836/social-workers-call-for-govt-to-scrap-registration-bill Social work bill ‘nonsense’ - Dr Ian Hyslop, University of Auckland 24 April 2018 https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/23/106052/social-work-bill-nonsense# Social Workers Registration Legislation Bill https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_74844/tab/submissionsandadvice

Huckleberry is a chain of organic supermarkets that is rapidly expanding across New Zealand. It is owned and backed by the same group as EcoStore. Huckleberry workers are paid as little as 50c above the minimum wage. On the whole, Huckleberry workers are paid less than workers at most mainstream supermarkets. FIRST Union has been bargaining with Huckleberry since December 2017 for increased and better conditions. Union members originally asked to be paid the Living Wage (then $20.20 per hour), but this was refused. The Living Wage is the hourly wage a worker needs to pay for the necessities of life and participate as an active citizen in the community. It is calculated independently each year, and is currently 20.55 per hour. As it stands, many workers at Huckleberry struggle to pay their rent, or to afford the organic and ethical products they sell each day. Recently, the L'Oreal Distribution Centre in Mangere jumped from a the minimum wage to the Living Wage: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/103003822/loreal-to-pay-living-wage-in-mangere-distribution-centre Another New Zealand organic company, Tonzu, was the first Auckland-based employer to sign on to the Living Wage movement: http://tonzu.co.nz/about/living-wage/ Huckleberry has demonstrated that it has the resources to open new stores and expand its business. It should take a leaf from Tonzu's and L'Oreal's books and invest the resources to fairly pay its staff. FIRST Union members at Huckleberry are taking industrial action to support their cause. Your support would help a lot. Please sign the petition and share widely. More on the Living Wage: https://www.livingwage.org.nz/

In 2013, the previous Government scrapped postgraduate allowances. Last year, Labour pledged to bring them back, and NZ First and the Greens have also shown their support. Now, we're looking for a start date! Restoring the postgraduate allowance isn't just good for students, it's good for the country. Across Aotearoa, postgraduate students are studying in fields that are crucial to our country's future success - clinical psychology, teaching and learning, and environmental studies to name a few. The current Government is committed to important national issues such as addressing the mental health crisis, uplifting the teaching profession and tackling climate change. In order for this work to succeed, we urgently need to be empowering and supporting our people to gain skills in these areas. A postgraduate student allowance is an easy first step towards making this a reality. Supporting postgraduate success is supporting our country's success. We're calling on the Government to restore the postgraduate student allowance now! No post-grad allowances for first semester, no set start date http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2017/11/no-post-grad-allowances-for-first-semester-and-no-set-start-date.html

Sign our petition: We are a group of 100+ ordinary Mums from a variety of backgrounds. We believe passionately that all children are our children. That all children in New Zealand, wherever they are, whatever their circumstances, have the right to access their education on an equal footing and to nutritious food to nourish their mind, lives and spirit. We believe a centrally funded, secured, healthy school lunch programme for all is a powerful mechanism for New Zealand to fulfill these obligations to our children, to lift them up and break the poverty cycle. We are deeply concerned that: • 1 in 4 of our kids are living in poverty. • 1 in 3 of our kids are overweight or obese. • 1 in 3 of all kids admitted to Starship Hospital are malnourished to some degree. We know that minimum wage earning and beneficiary families need to spend up to 52% of their income to purchase a basic healthy diet (Otago University Food Costs Survey 2011); some reports put that now at 60%. We know that higher rates of diabetes, obesity, infectious diseases, fatigue, poor mental health, greater psychological stress and poor academic development in children are found where healthy food is less accessible. We know cheap, accessible food is energy rich but nutrient poor meaning children are malnourished whilst also obese. This does currently, and will increasingly, put a chronic strain on the public health system. We know that charities currently reach some children in need with their food programmes (of varying nutritional value) in deciles 1-4 schools. However, they are stretched and they cannot and should not be expected to shoulder the burden in perpetuity when all New Zealanders will benefit from healthy, well educated children. Teachers also tell us that children are going to school without lunch in all deciles or simply not attending school at all due to the shame of not having a lunch to bring. Kids such as Blake (not his real name). He moved to a new school when his family sought refuge in a Womens' Refuge Centre away from his old area. He knew that a charity delivered hot food to his old school two days a week in the winter. The following week after his move, Blake walked 7km to his old school because he knew there would be hot food there on that day. A teacher asked him why he had walked so far back to his old school. Blake answered that it was because he hadn't eaten a meal since he had changed schools and he was hungry. Or, like Ellie (not her real name), who goes to a school in an affluent neighbourhood. She often attends school without a lunch. The teachers started to sneak a lunch, from their own pockets, into her schoolbag as discreetly as they could. Ellie now hands back the teachers' lunch because she would rather be hungry than accept charity from others. We say, this stops now. Only a school lunch for all kids will capture every child in need, free from shame and stigma. All our children will benefit from the health and education uplift provided by a school lunch programme. For the children most in need, that uplift is greatest. Better educated and healthier children benefits all New Zealanders with less children needing doctors and more children being doctors. We know that New Zealand is one of the few countries in the world with no national, government funded school meals programme. In most countries around the world it is uncontroversial, part and parcel of going to school. We believe that all kiwi kids deserve the same social protection and investment in their lives as their global peers. We have decided it’s time to stand up and stand together for our children. It is clear to us that only with a centrally funded programme in all schools and early childhood education centres throughout our country will we reach all children in need, wherever they are, whatever their circumstance, free from shame and stigma. The provision of a school lunch as of right, with dignity, in this way tells a child that we, as a society, value them. The provision of daily healthy and nutritious food in a school lunch sets all children up for a healthier and better educated life. This benefits all of us. Eat Right Be Bright Join us in making change for a brighter future our children. Sign the petition. Find out more ways to help and follow us on: Facebook - @likeamumNZ or Eat Right Be Bright NZ Website - www.eatrightbebright.org.nz Instagram - @eatrightbebright_nz or eatrightbebrightn_z Twitter - @eatrightNZ

Currently homelessness is increasing faster than the growth of housing supply (Auckland Council Environment and Community Committee, August 2017). This means that with the best intentions of getting people into housing, they will be spending time in inadequate shelter before this happens. A night shelter is needed, alongside initiatives such as the Housing First programme. A night shelter acts as a place of transition for people without a home, where they can have a degree of comfort and security. It is a base from where they can contact their support networks and be put in touch with the various agencies that can provide the assistance they need. As stated by the City Missioner in July 2017, the average life expectancy of a homeless person is 55. Hundreds of people are sleeping on Auckland streets, where it is not safe, and in the winter, it is cold and wet. Michelle Kidd, QSM, a social worker who has been campaigning for a night shelter for many years, described the situation in her open letter to Auckland mayoral candidates on 4 May 2016: "Most of our Homeless are either victims of Auckland’s deepening housing crisis, victims of physical or emotional abuse or neglect, suffer from disability, mental health or addiction issues, have little or no formal education or a combination of such factors. Homelessness is a complex issue for which there is no straightforward answer … "Without a stable base, Homeless people have no access to social services that might otherwise enable them to begin confronting the underlying factors that have resulted in them being on the streets. Further, as long as people are left to live on the streets without any support, they will be exposed not only to the elements but also to harm (such as physical and sexual violence)… "Homelessness in Auckland has become a desperate social issue and the time has come for the city to accept its responsibility for it. While any long-term strategy should be informed by the “Housing First” approach, applied with real success in states such as Utah in the United States, a night shelter will always be the necessary starting point - it represents the foundation on which a broader and more robust framework can be built … "Visitors to Auckland are greeted by the sight of our Homeless on the streets of our city - a stark contradiction to the ‘most liveable’ status Auckland craves. The failure of the city to provide basic human needs is on display for all to see. This cannot be allowed to continue.” References An open letter to Auckland mayoral candidates http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11632965 Watch: moves are afoot to set up a night shelter http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2017/12/gimme-shelter.html Housing First and night shelters http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-horvath/its-not-housing-first-or_b_4536727.html A new volunteer has come to central Auckland to help https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/102019944/Fire-chief-moves-from-idyllic-South-Island-town-to-help-Aucklands-homeless Campaign for night shelter continues http://www.tewahanui.nz/politics/campaign-for-auckland-cbd-night-shelter-continues Watch: Maori TV story about the need for a night shelter http://www.maoritelevision.com/news/regional/alleged-rape-homeless-highlights-need-shelter Watch: TVNZ story about plans for a night shelter in Nelson St, City Centre https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/lawyers-auckland-city-safe-haven-homeless-needs-little-bit-more-funding-make-reality?variant=tb_v_1

Last year pokie machines took in $890 million from New Zealand communities. This doesn't include the $586 million lost at casinos. The pokie business model is predatory by its nature, relying on the highly addictive design of the machines, and targets people on low incomes. In wealthy areas of our country there is one pokie machine for every 465 people, whereas in poorer areas there is one for every 75 people. This means that much of that $890 million came directly from the pockets of families in hardship. Most recently, the South Waikato District Council approved a site permit for a new mega gambling centre in Tokoroa, a town where many families already face the stresses of unemployment, insecure work and low wages. Former New Zealander of the Year, Dr Lance O'Sullivan has described this plan as "disgraceful" and "predatory". Our Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said that reducing child poverty is the reason she got into politics, and has taken on specific responsibility for this as the Minister for Child Poverty reduction. Her government has committed to setting bold goals for reducing poverty, and identified a range of policies that would help to do this. One simple step the Prime Minister could take, which would immediately reduce whānau poverty, would be to ban pokie machines in New Zealand. These machines are highly addictive, and do enormous harm to some of the families doing it toughest in our country. This harm is supposedly justified because a portion of the gambling profits is distributed to community and sports groups. This means the families who are worst off in our communities are not only being exploited by predatory gambling businesses, but also that the people least able to do so are subsidising community services that should be funded by everyone fairly, through taxes. This makes no sense at all. Please add your voice to the call on our Prime Minister to protect families from predatory gambling businesses by banning all pokies now. References: Pokie statistics from Problem Gambling Foundation NZ: https://www.pgf.nz/pokie-statistics.html Ban pokies to reduce child poverty, Newshub: http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2017/11/ban-pokies-to-reduce-child-poverty-lance-o-sullivan-to-pm.html Mega-gambling centre in Tokoroa: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/99550519/tokoroa-mega-gaming-venue-looks-at-tab

Resident leaseholders of Cornwall Park Trust properties are being forced to pay rents way above market rates, or be evicted with little or no compensation. The Trust Board has repossessed more than 20 homes, forcing families to leave with nothing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqVr_gYNfuQ#action=share The effect on leaseholders’ lives has been tragic - with bankruptcies, marriage breakups and mental health issues as families lose their homes to the Trust. Families are facing new rents of an average of $170,000 per year or be evicted with little or no compensation from the homes they bought, often with big debts still owing. To persuade leaseholders to re-sign for 21 years, the Board has offered a 7-year 'discount' to $103,000 - still far above the market rent of $45,000. Leaseholders will still be forced to leave. The remaining leaseholders will also be evicted unless the Trustees update the lease as the other Trusts have done. These kinds of 'Glasgow' leases were fair and quite common in the 1920’s but have been banned in Scotland and the UK due to the inequity and social harm they cause. In 1993 the Justice Minister, Doug Graham’s Ministerial 'Lusk Inquiry' recommended that unless the Trusts make changes, legislation may be required. In response, these Trusts updated their leases. Cornwall Park escaped the enquiry and retained the 1920's lease. In response, the Trusts updated their leases to: 1. stop forcing families from their homes with nothing; 2. stop charging higher than market rents; 3. provide market compensation if they leave. 4. offered the option to buy their homes at a fair price The Cornwall Park Trust was not included and to this day refuses to update the leases despite many, many appeals from desperate leaseholders. The only solution left is for the government to intervene as they did in 1992, and to legislate to force the Trustees to come into line with the other Trusts. The current unelected Trustees are Adrienne Young-Cooper, Keith Smith, John Duncan and Alastair Carruthers. We ask the Prime Minister to intervene immediately to prevent the Trustees from causing further social harm. Visit the campaign website http://www.savecornwallpark.com/ Other links to media https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/cornwall-park-home-leaseholders-feel-sting-of-asb-showgrounds-fate-sharpen-fight-for-fair-rents/G2GFQI735PG55QSBXLYZIAKS3M/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqVr_gYNfuQ#action=share https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/disgruntled-cornwall-park-lessees-take-it-streets-vy-148024 http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/9024096/Another-Cornwall-Park-house-abandoned References: Ministerial enquiry into certain perpetually renewable leases in Auckland, 1992, Anthony A. Lusk, QC: https://www.parliament.nz/resource/en-NZ/51SCLGE_EVI_51DBHOH_PET71710_1_A548025/20f38a863a82a74718c20638f5a4b223a085a761 Parliamentary petition on behalf of the Cornwall Park Leaseholders Association: https://www.parliament.nz/resource/mi-NZ/51SCLGE_EVI_51DBHOH_PET71710_1_A554431/0d30f99417a456bcd2ffe9442759e5e2625592f1 UK government considering making residential leasehold illegal: http://impression.co.nz/news/could-leasehold-become-illegal

The government has recently cut funding to Growing Up in New Zealand. What is this research about, who is it for, and why does it matter? Based at the University of Auckland, Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) is the largest and most diverse longitudinal study to ever track the lives of children in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It is the only study to track them from before birth through young adulthood. This groundbreaking study represents the lives and stories of almost 7000 children and their families, providing unique insight into what shapes children’s early development and how interventions might be targeted at the earliest opportunity to give every New Zealand child the best start in life. Where previous research conducted in Aotearoa/New Zealand had much narrower frames of reference, GUiNZ is the first study specifically designed to look at outcomes for Māori, Pasifika, and Asian children. The study is an important and unique opportunity to support the children of Aotearoa/New Zealand – it tracks the socioeconomic factors that lead to inequality, while also picking up other influences such as disability and disease. The government recently cut funding to GUiNZ. These cuts will result in only having enough money to collect information from 2000 participants in the upcoming data collection wave. While some may argue that children left out of this wave can be picked up next time, if continuity is lost, the data can no longer be called truly longitudinal. Inadequate funding of GUiNZ will create holes in the data. There is a risk with such a reduced cohort size, that researchers will no longer able to identify when risk factors facing our tamariki become statistically significant. For the research to succeed (to be able to conduct good, sound, scientific analysis for as many health and wellbeing outcomes as possible) it is essential that all dots stay connected. Losing continuity is disrespectful of all the time and effort this huge group of participating whānau has donated –finding and retaining participants will become so much harder. Why has this funding been cut? The current government believes that "big data" (data collected during our everyday dealings with governmental systems like the doctor and WINZ) can tell us all we need to know. Those with any scientific training can tell you it can't, and it won't. Gathering data from people before we know what is going to happen in the lives, shows us so much more. Big data doesn’t have access to biological samples, nor does it give us the depth of information required to understand why families make the choices they do. Please sign and share our petition. Then talk about this study - to your family, to your neighbours, to your friends, to your MP and local candidates. The more people that know about this, the more likely we are to have funding restored. We believe the funding of this critical research should be a priority for the next government of New Zealand. Thank you for showing us you think this is important, too. http://www.growingup.co.nz/en/about-the-study.html http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/84054547/Is-the-future-of-the-ambitious-Growing-up-in-NZ-Study-in-doubt

The home environment we live in plays a huge role in our own health, and the health of our families. Every winter in New Zealand, about 1600 deaths are attributed to people living in cold, damp homes (1). Compared to many other developed countries, New Zealand has much higher rates of people being hospitalised for lung diseases such as asthma (2). Living in cold, damp, mouldy environments places our families at much greater risk of having acute attacks. It is incredibly important that people with such illnesses are not treated just to be sent home to the environment that made them sick. The World Health Organisation recommends that houses should be insulated so that they are at least 18°C, a minimum temperature where lung (respiratory) illnesses are less likely to occur (3). Unfortunately up to a third of New Zealand’s homes do not meet this minimum standard, with the average temperature in poorer households being 13°C (3,4). This issue is therefore impacting on the health of our poorest communities and needs to be addressed by our government. It is also clear that insulating homes well would be much more cost-effective for the government. Programmes such as “Warm Up New Zealand” have shown that the savings associated with subsidising insulation and heaters far outweighs the costs by nearly 4 times (cost-benefit ratio of 3.9) (5). The government currently spends $5.5 billion per year on lung (respiratory) illnesses such as asthma, with much of this being preventable (6). Without a doubt, we strongly believe the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No.2) is a step in the right direction. However there is still much that needs to be done. Together, we can make a difference in ensuring that New Zealand homes are warm and insulated, to improve the health of our children and families. References 1. Nichol R. 1600 deaths attributed to cold houses each winter in New Zealand. The New Zealand Listener. June 2017. http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/social-issues/1600-deaths-attributed-to-cold-houses-each-winter-in-new-zealand/#.WT9lYy9meGk.facebook 2. OECD (2011), Health at a Glance 2011: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. 3. Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Housing and Health in Auckland. Chapter 6: Cold, Damp and Mould. Pages 25-27. 2005. 4. Howden-Chapman P, Matheson A, Crane J, Viggers H, Cunningham M, Blakely T, et al. Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community. BMJ. 2007;334(7591):460. 5. Howden-Chapman P, Arnold R, Telfar-Barnard L, Preval N, Young C. Cost Benefit Analysis of the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart Programme. 2012. 6. Barnard L, Baker M, Pierse N, Zhang J. The impact of respiratory disease in New Zealand: 2014 update. 2015

Recently the government passed an historic pay equity claim for health care assistants and support workers which is being widely celebrated in aged care. It is fantastic to hear that these hard working carers will be paid a liveable wage for the excellent work they do in an important sector of healthcare. However with this pay rise for health care assistants and support workers, the issue surrounding Registered Nurse pay rates in aged care is highlighted. Registered nurses in the aged care sector have long been overlooked, and on average make $5-15 less* than DHB acute care nurses with the same years of experience. The standard rate of pay for health care assistants is now only $1-4 less than an aged care Registered Nurse, despite the level of responsibility we take or experience we have. Within 5 years of the new pay scale plan the health care assistants will begin on a higher rate than many aged care nurses earn even after several years experience. We are the ones delegating the tasks, and addressing complicated health, social and emotional issues that arise from the care of our most vulnerable. We are caring for those with multiple co-morbidities, working without a doctor onsite, making difficult decisions on a day to day basis, using a broad and varied range of knowledge of both acute and chronic care management and end of life care. As we make these decisions, we are liable. Is the level of responsibility we take really only worth an extra dollar or two than a health care assistant? Is my degree really worth so little to the government? Aged care nurses are crucial, but if they are not paid what they are worth, many will continue to leave the sector, and few will enter it. Why become an aged care nurse if you make less than an acute care nurse? Why enter the nursing field if you can be on a higher rate as an HCA without the 3 year degree? Without the critical thinking and knowledge of RNs, the aged care sector will soon fall apart. We need to be encouraging nurses into the sector as it grows, and paying them what they are worth for the complicated and difficult work they do everyday. However with the limited funding available this is an issue our managers cannot afford to address without support from the government. *based on rates at my workplace vs. local DHB

We want to see a happy, healthy and productive New Zealand. One of the biggest barriers to this is our widespread problems with mental health. In fact, one in five New Zealanders will be diagnosed with a mental health problem this year, and we have the highest youth suicide rate in the world, but there is a huge lack of knowledge about prevention, and recovery in the general population. Current school programmes focus on counselling and only allude to wellbeing in the context of physical health, but this is educating too little and intervening too late. Furthermore, Health is only compulsory in the curriculum up to Year 10, meaning that they may face the stressful times of NCEA and transition out of school without enough support to their Mental Health. Better trained teachers and/or external providers need to deliver clear and consistent messages about mental health. I started this petition because I faced a lot of distress at the end of high school, and I blamed my friends, my parents and especially myself before I realised that there might be an underlying cause to my extended distress, and even then I was hesitant to ask for help because I feared judgement. So many of my friends have stories like this, and I strongly believe that good education for all young people will encourage them to seek help sooner and improve outcomes long term. All young Kiwis need to know how to best keep themselves well and support each other, and we believe a comprehensive mental health curriculum in schools will help to achieve this. Media: http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/90756147/mental-health-campaigner-lucy-mcsweeney-wants-to-shake-up-mental-health-education-in-schools http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/nutters-club/why-we-need-mental-health-education-in-schools-part-1/ http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/nutters-club/why-we-need-mental-health-education-in-schools-part-2/ More information: If you need help - don't be afraid to reach out, it's not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength - here's some people who will be there for you: Lifeline 0800 543 354 or (09) 522 2999 Suicide Prevention Helpline 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOK0) Youthline 0800 376 633 Sources: NZ youth suicide twice Australia’s https://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/nz-youth-suicide-twice-australias Suicide accounts for a third of all deaths in those aged 15-24 http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/turned-away-in-a-crisis

Taxing non-optional items such as sanitary pads is unfair and forces households already under pressure to make choices between hygiene and other essential items such as food. It is estimated that in a lifetime, someone who uses sanitary products every month will have to spend close to $10,000 on tampons alone. The high cost of tampons, sanitary pads and related products impact most on people with a lower income. Everyone who needs tampons, sanitary pads and other related, reusable products, should have access regardless of income. They are essential items and when access is restricted it can create health risks. Agencies such as the Salvation Army and budgeting services are finding that young girls in New Zealand are unable to afford tampons and are missing out on school because of this. There have been reports of girls and women using rags, newspaper and even of people washing and re-using sanitary pads which is unhygienic, and infections have been reported. Background In February I started an OurActionStation campaign to encourage Pharmac (the New Zealand government agency that decides which pharmaceuticals to publicly fund) to subsidise tampons and sanitary pads for everyone. However on 18 April it was announced that Pharmac has declined the application, as in its view, “sanitary products are not medicines or medical devices."[1] Pharmac's decision is a big disappointment and a wasted opportunity. It could have been a chance for Pharmac to really stand up and support girls and women who are paying a huge amount to bleed in this country. There is something we can do though. Many countries around the world have removed the tax from tampons [3] or are campaigning to remove it, [4] making these products more accessible and we reckon New Zealand should do the same here! Quotes: "Especially for young people, children at school. The young girls are getting to that stage of life and some of them are missing school, because their families can't afford to buy sanitary products. We know the stories of women having to wash store-bought one-use sanitary pads and then reuse them, which is quite unhygienic and also quite degrading in a sense. We're hearing of women getting infections." Pam Waugh, The Salvation Army head of social services References: 1. Pharmac rejects request to fund tampons, pads, RNZ, 19 April 2017 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/329040/pharmac-rejects-request-to-fund-tampons,-pads 2. Pharmac considers funding sanitary products, RNZ, 20 Feb 2017 http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/324865/pharmac-considers-funding-sanitary-products 3. https://www.thestar.com/life/food_wine/2015/06/04/toronto-woman-behind-campaign-to-kill-tampon-tax-ecstatic-over-victory.html 4. https://www.change.org/m/end-the-sexist-and-illogical-tax-on-tampons-sanitary-pads-and-mooncups-period