Our health system has failed Māori for far too long. Report after report has demonstrated institutional racism and exclusion of Māori leadership that has led to devastating outcomes and inequity. For all those years, hapū, iwi, health workers, lawyers, health researchers, and many more have fought for better, and called for practical solutions they knew would work. Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) is the result of their vision for a health system that better honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and better cares for whānau. A truly Māori-led agency that has the power to resource and lift up kaupapa Māori, and iwi and hapū health services, can improve health for Māori, and all communities in Aotearoa. Without a clear plan to improve hauora Māori, the National, ACT, and NZ First parties have vowed to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora. The coalition Government plan to introduce the disestablishment legislation just days before the hearing of the Urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim is set to begin. This bad-faith move restricts the jurisdiction of the Tribunal to fully consider this breach of Te Tiriti, and the impact on Māori. It is unacceptable for the Crown to unilaterally move ahead and block tangata whenua from being heard. We demand a health system that treats everyone fairly, in ways that uplift them and their whānau, and honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We stand with people on the frontline of the health system: allied, public, and mental health practitioners, nurses, doctors, and many more health professionals, who know Te Aka Whai Ora is important and necessary to deliver healthcare well. Disestablishment is a major threat to Māori health. That’s why we’re calling for the Government to change course now and protect Te Aka Whai Ora. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUTDpxDh90E

We are short 700 social workers, 940 psychologists, 1000 teachers, 1,050 midwives, 1,700 doctors, & 4,800 nurses to name a few. Our hospitals, GP practices, schools, mental health & social services are more stretched than ever. Dangerously low staffing levels & overworked professionals make for burnt-out workforces & inaccessible services. This means long waitlists for surgeries or specialist appointments & long wait times in ED. Delayed access to mental health assessments, treatment, crisis support, & suicide prevention. Family harm & child protection services stretched beyond capacity. Large class sizes in schools mean reduced capacity for individual learning needs to be met & homeschooling for parents when teachers are off sick. The ripple effect of workforce shortages is massive. More staff are needed but it’s nearly impossible to complete course requirements with the current cost of living. Students are burning out & dropping out of study at rates of up to 45%. They can’t afford to work for free when rent, food, & power still cost money. - Students training in professions with placement requirements complete between 500 & 2400 hours of unpaid training depending on registration requirements. Medical students complete 20-42 weeks of unpaid placements for 3 years (after a 3yr BSc Health Science). - Students are often required to live or work away from home to complete placements. The cost of double rent & the impact on part-time work opportunities are significant. For students with on-call requirements, maintaining paid work is almost impossible. - Students must cover course related costs such as textbooks, uniforms, immunisations, equipment, travel, parking, supervision, & childcare arrangements. $1000 course costs loans are insufficient to cover these expenses. - Students participate in paid work to pay their bills on top of unpaid placements, often working up to 80 hours a week to make ends meet. Students from backgrounds of hardship or those caring for tamariki/whānau get excluded from these professions as they have limited financial flexibility or capacity to take on high student loans, unpaid labour & course related costs. - Student hardship disproportionately affects Māori & Pasifika because of existing inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand. We need greater diversity & experience to better serve the needs of our communities but without financial support to study our professions are at risk of becoming more short-staffed & less diverse. Post-graduate students Support must also be available for post-graduate students undertaking placements as part of their registration requirements. Currently, postgraduate students are ineligible for student allowance. - Many degrees are completed at a post-graduate level via an applied/professional masters. - Registered psychology professions & psychotherapy are only available at postgraduate level. - Lifetime student allowance limits are significantly lower for those over 40 years of age. - Mature students’ only option is to take on huge student loans & living costs. Working for free while collecting debt is especially prohibitive for students with additional domestic, family, and financial responsibilities. We must incentivise New Zealanders to gain qualifications in registered professions. Tradies receive support through packages like the Apprenticeship Boost and Police are paid to train while provided bed and board. Paid training for our health, education, and social work professionals must become the norm too. The solution! Provide students with a universal, non-repayable, annually increasing stipend. We are calling on the government to pay students a universal stipend while they train in registered professions with compulsory placement requirements. This is non-repayable & should increase annually to reflect the year-on-year increase in placement hours, skill development, & responsibilities. First year undergraduate programs with placement requirements must start on at least equivalent to the training wage for Aotearoa New Zealand. Postgraduate students should start on at least equivalent to the living wage to reflect their existing qualifications & professional experience. What is a stipend? A stipend is not a wage. It is a tax-free fund to support students to cover living costs, enabling them to fully engage with their studies & placement requirements. A stipend does not make students employees. It will not affect training, practice, or supervision requirements. Year 1: Training wage (tax-free stipend) $32,084.64* Year 2: Minimum wage (tax-free stipend) $39,312.72* Year 3+: Living wage (tax-free stipend) $44,008.58* *Take home amount students would receive at the current rates. These should be reviewed & adjusted annually in line with equivalent wage rates. Additional allowances should be available for on-call requirements, mandatory therapy, & supervision costs. Please sign & share this petition for paid training in healthcare, education, & social work. Funded workforce development will improve accessibility to training, increase the diversity of staff, & enable better access to quality services for whānau & community. Follow Paid Placements Aotearoa’s advocacy on: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PaidPlacementsAotearoa Instagram https://www.instagram.com/paid.placements.aotearoa/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=bf&trkInfo=AQGfBgJOR0gsnwAAAY0K0NJQ4VSzObpB_5YpuuKfAs4gSu9gxg1BfhglPpZqhKz9ODj2xKAUWfio4DrWWjGr5yXqlQNvywhjI4U3p6L5VKxhaSXw35UEoahOPDPewg04X9Xqqrw=&original_referer=&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fpaid-placements-aotearoa-nz-236384272%2F

Bringing people living with dementia together to work, share food, use their long learned skills and remind them that they are valued members of our society, helps keep people well for longer. It improves their quality of life and enriches our communities. But currently, the Ministry of Health only provides the financial support needed to attend daycare services to the full time carer of someone who is terminally ill, someone who has ongoing health or mental conditions or someone who has an age related disability. The carers needs are assessed based on their situation and the disability/illness of those they are caring for. They are then allocated a number of days per year to allow them respite from those they are caring for, or they can get financial support to bring the person who is ill to a daycare facility. People who live on their own or their carers are still in employment do not qualify for this support. Often resulting in people being unable to afford daycare programs that would greatly benefit their quality of life. Ensuring funding for people living with dementia, regardless of whether they have a carer or not, means enabling people to attend services where they can be part of a community while in a safe environment. Dementia can hit everyone, is not picky about age, or intelligence. When it hits a person who is young and therefore still working, it can take a while before it is recognised/diagnosed. Because of this, often people are lonely, having lost their job, their income and their working community. More and more people are living alone because of the loss of partners, and have no carers around. All people living with dementia deserve to be cared for and given opportunities to be part of a community.

Aotearoa New Zealand should be a place where everyone can afford public transport to stay connected, enjoy our regions, and travel in a way that’s kind to the environment. Everyone deserves to have access to their places of work, study, and community, and this is especially important for young people and for our most vulnerable communities. The public transport discounts introduced in 2023 are a crucial step towards enabling this access, whilst also reducing transport emissions in support of our climate targets. However, during their election campaign, the National Party proposed cancelling the public transport discounts introduced this year. If they go ahead with this, public transport fares will effectively double for some. Families are already struggling with the cost of living, and the increase in cost of public transport will push many back to cars. For people who don’t have the option of driving for reasons such as disability, age, or income level, the financial inaccessibility of public transport worsens social isolation and restricts opportunities for New Zealanders to work towards their dreams. Keeping public transport fares low helps us meet our climate commitments. Strong evidence from Aotearoa and overseas shows us that reducing public transport fares increases mode shift from private to public transport, reducing our transport emissions. We know that hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders left their cars behind to take public transport due to the temporary half-price fares for everyone in 2022 and 2023. The shift from private to public transport not only reduces our impact on the climate: it also reduces traffic congestion, which brings economic benefits and allows everyone to travel more efficiently. Furthermore, significant public health benefits result from the reduction in air pollution and road accidents. Public transport affordability is crucial to supporting New Zealanders in the cost of living crisis and mitigate transport poverty. Affordable public transport gives people access to school, work, family, public services, and enables people to contribute to their community. This access is especially important for the groups who are targeted by the current discounts: young people and tamariki, low-income earners, and disabled people. We also reiterate the need for all tertiary students to be included in these discounts. Finally, we know that most New Zealanders support keeping public transport fares low. A new poll has found that 71% of New Zealanders want to keep the current public transport discounts, with 50% strongly agreeing they should be kept. There is support across the political spectrum, with only 21% of National voters supporting the removal of the discounts. We call for the incoming Minister of Transport to listen to what the people of Aotearoa are calling for. Let’s hold onto the wins of the public transport discounts introduced this year, and work towards Free Fares for all students, under-25s, Community Services Card holders, and Total Mobility Card holders and their support people. It’s a no brainer: this is an easy action the Government can take for climate and community in the midst of the challenges we are currently facing. Sources: Please see the https://freefares.nz/frequently-asked-questions/ for our evidence.

We all want tamariki to grow up surrounded by loving, thriving whānau within supportive communities where there are resources, opportunities and systems to enable them to flourish free of poverty. Prime Minister-elect Luxon has committed to keeping the Child Poverty Reduction Act (2018) and halving child poverty by 2028. This will take a concerted effort in several areas. Poverty is notoriously difficult to measure but here are some statistics PM-elect Luxon needs to know right now. • A record almost half a million Kiwis each month rely on food handouts from charity. This will increase at Christmas. Food parcels are not the answer. Our whole food system is broken, and kids are suffering. • Te Whatu Ora statistics this month show hospital admissions for babies and preschoolers for preventable illnesses are up more than 30 percent since June 2022 The situation is urgent. We want to show our new leaders the evidence-based policies that will help them fulfil their election promise to halve child poverty. Speaking on behalf of children in poverty; Child Poverty Action Group, Methodist Alliance, Presbyterian Support New Zealand, Methodist Mission Northern, NZ Council of Christian Services and the Paediatric Society of New Zealand. Please sign the petition to show how much people across Aotearoa care about child poverty, and help put pressure on the next government to meet with us ASAP.

16 and 17 year olds are just as impacted by local political decisions as those over 18 and we will inherit the future kawekawe of those decisions. Public transport, infrastructure, community development, and a vast list of other local government issues will continue to affect us and future generations of young people. Despite the effects politics has, and will have, on us, we have no democratic say in their solutions. We are on the brink of making history, but we need your help! Every signature is a step towards a more inclusive democracy. Rangatahi are ready, willing, and capable to vote. We demonstrate this time and time again. It is time for our voices to be heard at local government elections. Sign our petition to bring the Bill to second reading and urge the incoming government to vote for rangatahi human rights. Don’t kill the Bill.

When care is in the community, whānau stay connected to the people and places we love. All of us want our family members to get the support they need to live independently and well. People who deliver care and support to our older ones, disabled whānau, and folk recovering from illness or injury are key to the infrastructure of care communities need to look after everyone. For far too long, their work has been undervalued because funding agencies and governments of all stripes have underpaid for work that has traditionally been done by women. We urge you to fund the pay equity settlement for all care and support workers as soon as possible. For over a year we have undergone a rigorous pay equity process. We have systematically proven and measured the undervaluation of care and support workers based on their gender. Thousands of hours and many resources have been devoted to analysis that was signed off at each milestone. Unions and employers are ready to make this happen. But your agencies that fund care and support work continue to lag behind on providing sufficient funding to deliver pay equity and have interfered in an evidence-based and prescribed process adhered to by employers and unions. As a result, too many workers are struggling to make rent payments and put food on the table while they’re made to wait. The need for care and support grows as our population ages while services lose staff to better paying professions and strain to recruit new people. We are calling on you to stop the delays and interference now so the claim can progress. The situation is now urgent and overdue. You have a huge opportunity to strengthen this cornerstone of our community health system, nourish services that care for families, and transform the lives of 65,000 workers. Aotearoa celebrated proudly in 2017 when unions won an historic pay increase for care and support workers following landmark legal wins championed by aged care worker Kristine Bartlett. We knew it wasn’t right that care and support workers were struggling to make ends meet while doing some of the most important work there is. Since then, their wages have regressed back to minimum wage while the cost of living has skyrocketed. Care and support workers change catheters and stoma bags, and make sure medicine is taken. They support families through the difficult changes that come with health problems. They assist disabled people to live independently at home. They show up for folk who don’t have friends or whānau to come to visit. They help people shower, turn over in bed to avoid pressure areas, and to live well. They support people through mental ill-health or addiction to keep going. They’re with loved ones at the end of their lives. Once again, it’s time to make sure care and support workers are paid what they’re worth. This time for good. Please fund the pay equity claim for all care and support workers urgently so we can reach a settlement. From, Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi, E tū, and New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa With the support of: Carers New Zealand Alzheimer’s New Zealand New Zealand Society of Diversional and Recreational Therapists Grey Power National Council of Women New Zealand Auckland Women’s Centre YWCA Kristine Bartlett Saunoamaali'i Dr. Karanina Sumeo, Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner / Kaihautū Ōritenga Mahi Professor Katherine Ravenswood (AUT) Migrant Action Trust Gabriela Aotearoa New Zealand Migrante Aotearoa New Zealand New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Unite Union NZEI Te Riu Roa New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union MERAS Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service Tertiary Education Union Te Hautū Kahurangi Tertiary Institutes Allied Staff Association National Union of Public Employees

This request is rooted not only in the impact of her visit in March this year, but also her extensive history of hateful speech and incitement of violence. Her return to Aotearoa would pose a significant threat and risk to public order and the public interest - this holds especially true for our takatāpui, transgender and gender diverse communities. Disinformation Project Researcher Dr Sanjana Hattouwa reported that after Keen’s visit to New Zealand, the amount of vitriol towards the trans community was “to a degree we’ve never studied before ” with “extraordinarily violent” content towards trans people being distributed widely. He described the level of hate towards trans people as “genocidal”. Outside of Aotearoa, Keen-Minshull’s public statements and actions have included: - Threatening that transgender people, gender diverse people, “and anyone else who stands in [her] way” will be “annihilated” - Stating trans men should be sterilised - Calling for men to carry guns to patrol women’s bathrooms against the imagined threat of trans women - Encouraging violent outbreaks at her tours in the UK and US, with her supporters allegedly assaulting counter protestors and inflicting violence on trans people - Organising rallies attended by members of the Proud Boys - a designated terrorist group in Aotearoa - Being excluded by other groups and members of her own anti trans circles because of her racism, Islamophobia and aforementioned ties to far-right white nationalism.* As the Minister for Immigration, Mr. Little, you have the right under s.16 of the immigration act 2009 to deny a visa, entry permission or entry waiver to a person likely to be a threat or risk to public order or to the public interest. The threshold for both appears to be low, considering that it was the same section used to bar the rap group Odd Future from Aotearoa in 2014. At the time, Immigration New Zealand said in a statement that their rationale for the ban under s.16 included "incidents at past performances in which they have cited violence." In an email dated 12 February 2014, obtained by Stuff as part of the OIA, Immigration NZ wrote: "[Odd Future] clearly has a history of promoting and inciting hatred…were they permitted to travel to New Zealand and perform I believe on the basis of their track record thus far, they are likely to incite violence towards women, racial, sexist and homophobic disharmony in New Zealand". Keen-Minshull is a person who causes demonstrable risk of harm to our public. Who employs hate speech and calls for violence against some of Aotearoa’s most vulnerable citizens. Whose public events have already caused disruption to public order here and overseas. TLA believes this justifies you, Minster Little, in exercising your powers under s.16 of the Act to deny her entry to Aotearoa, and for the safety of our trans citizens and the general public interest, we call on you to do so. Yours sincerely, Trans Liberation Alliance Sources: Posie Parker to return to NZ in September: Will Border Officers Let Her In? New Zealand Herald, 2 August 2023 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/posie-parker-to-return-to-new-zealand-in-september-will-border-officers-let-her-in/QMFZ42LTVNFD7DS5KAF5C6URFQ/ Green Party Aotearoa Veale J, Byrne J, Tan K, Guy S, Yee A, Nopera T & Bentham R (2019). Counting Ourselves: The health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Transgender Health Research Lab, University of Waikato: Hamilton NZ. https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/12942/Counting%20Ourselves_Report%20Dec%2019-Online.pdf?sequence=54%26isAllowed=y Anti Trans Hate in NZ becoming 'genocidal’ - One News, Friday, 5 May 2023 https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/05/05/anti-trans-hate-in-nz-becoming-genocidal-disinformation-project/ Why we need to protest Posie Parker, Redflag, 5 March 2023 https://redflag.org.au/article/why-we-need-protest-posie-parker

Elections are a time when our entire country comes together to decide on our political leadership. Everyone has a right to participate and share their view on the direction of our country, no matter their background. However, we are deeply concerned with your recent comments on NewstalkZB which incite violent rhetoric towards Pacific communities. You told listeners that in your fantasy you’d "send a guy called Guy Fawkes in there [The Ministry for Pacific Peoples] and it would be all over.” Threats of violence are not a “joke”. They can normalise violent behaviour and lead to fatal real-life repercussions. In fact, staff at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples had already been harassed at their workplace due to politicisation and race-baiting already aimed at their work. In 2022 you stated yourself, that violent rhetoric “does not belong in New Zealand politics”. Now we’re asking you to practice what you preach, retract your statement on NewstalkZB, apologise to the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and commit to an election free from violent speech. Elections should be a time when everyone can participate democratically, without their culture or workplace being threatened or insulted. Violent speech chips away at our democracy, when we need it to be stronger than ever. In a time of shared economic and climate crises, we need political leaders that are willing to respect people of all backgrounds, and refuse to stoke the fire of fear and division in Aotearoa New Zealand. ----- [1] Deputy PM Sepuloni blasts Seymour's Guy Fawkes 'joke' about Ministry for Pacific Peoples. Newshub, 17 August 2023: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/deputy-pm-sepuloni-blasts-seymour-s-guy-fawkes-joke-about-ministry-for-pacific-peoples.html [2] Incident at Ministry of Pacific Peoples leaves staff rattled, police called in. Stuff, 18 August 2023 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300952879/incident-at-ministry-of-pacific-peoples-leaves-staff-rattled-police-called-in [3] ACT Leader David Seymour slams Te Pāti Māori for 'threatening violence' in jokes about him. Newshub, 14 July 2022: https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/07/act-leader-david-seymour-slams-te-p-ti-m-ori-for-threatening-violence-in-jokes-about-him.html

The Mental Health Matters Initiative is a group of youth activists who have come together to fight for better mental health care in Aotearoa. We believe in the power of youth voice and experience and we are demanding the government to reform their Mental Health Policy. For years young people have been left to navigate an overworked and underfunded Mental Health System. Current and past Governments have handled the Mental Health Crisis with apathy, leaving behind a dysfunctional system. The Mental Health Matters Initiative holds a vision for what our mental health care system should look like (MHMI - Mission Statement): 1) Empathetic Providers and Leaders. We need empathetic leaders and mental health providers that work hard to ensure that every young person is able to access the care that they deserve, and understands the nuances and trials that come with every individual mental health journey. We need the Government to create policy that protects not only its patients needing care, but the workers who supply it. 2) Accessible Care. Everyone needs to be able to access the care that they need in a simple, stress-free way. We want to create viable pathways to care through policy and breaking Mental Health stigma. 3) Fair and Equitable Treatment. Access to treatment and care should be fair and equitable. Everyone should have access to the care that they deserve and that distribution of resources is fair on not only patients but workers. The current status-quo is not good enough. Experts, young people, workers, and those currently trying to navigate the system are demanding better. It is time to listen. We demand the government to implement these policies to ensure a functioning and supportive mental health system in Aotearoa.You have ignored us for too long, and this is a matter of life or death for many. Ngā Mihi, The Mental Health Matters Initiative

Te Reo Māori - the Māori language forms a part of our unique identity and culture in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is one of the official languages of our country and as English is spoken every day, everywhere by everyone so should te reo Māori (with sign). A strategy to enable its growth was to have a concentrated period to celebrate and promote te reo māori, that is Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori - Māori language week and has been the case since 1975. Almost 50 years has passed and it's time to uplift the concentrated celebration and positive promotion of our Reo Māori - Māori language to further enable its growth to thrive and flourish, and its development as a language of value for all Aotearoa New Zealanders. It is what makes us uniquely different in the world. Making the official celebration for the month of Mahuru ( September) called Mahuru Māori will really boost the promise of a vibrant future for te reo Māori.

Electricity is an essential service, necessary for health and wellbeing. Most of us rely on it to stay warm, cook dinner, do our homework and keep the lights on. But lack of action from the regulator - the Electricity Authority, who sets the rules for electricity retailers - is causing unfair hardship.  *** Disconnection and reconnection fees are adding debt to whānau already suffering. *** Prepay electricity is more expensive, even though many people who use prepay are doing so because they struggle to pay their bills and have no other option. *** The Consumer Care Guidelines, which are meant to protect vulnerable people, remain voluntary and retailers can ignore them.    The Electricity Authority needs to protect people, especially the most vulnerable, by setting better rules for retailers. In 2022, electricity retailers disconnected at least 8,500 households on standard plans where people could not afford to pay their bills. (1) Retailers were then allowed to charge these households “disconnection fees” and “reconnection fees”, which can total over $200, pushing people further into debt. The majority of households who are disconnected then end up with no choice but to use prepay plans, on which overall costs are on average 13% higher than standard plans (2). These prepay users - some 30,000 households - are paying a premium for being poor. Consumer NZ estimates that each night, as many as 50 households on pre-pay are sitting without electricity because they can’t afford to top up (3). Official data about these prepay disconnections is not even recorded. The good news is that the Electricity Authority has the power to intervene. In December 2022, Parliament gave them an explicit objective to ‘protect the interests of domestic… consumers’ (ie households). No group deserves this protection more than the most vulnerable households.  It is time for the Electricity Authority to use this power.  We’re calling on them to:  ***Protect consumers who are already struggling, by banning fees for disconnection/reconnection in cases of unpaid bills.  ***End the ‘penalty for prepay’ by requiring retailers to publish prepay disconnection data and to ensure that prepay costs are no higher than their cheapest post-pay plan.  ***Protect all consumers by making the full set of Consumer Care Guidelines mandatory, monitoring compliance and introducing penalties when retailers don’t follow the rules. This petition is organised by Common Grace Aotearoa in collaboration with Anglican Advocacy, the Salvation Army, FinCap, Community Law Centres o Aotearoa, Child Poverty Action Group, Consumer NZ, He Kāinga Oranga Housing and Health Research Group (University of Otago Wellington), Citizens Advice Bureau, Toast Electric, Sustainability Trust, NZ Council of Christian Social Services, Presbyterian Support, Family Works New Zealand, The Bishop's Action Foundation and United Community Action Network. We will deliver the petition to the Electricity Authority Board in 2024. Learn more, and get involved, at everyoneconnectednz.com. (1)Data received under the Official Information Act from the Electricity Authority. www.ea.govt.nz/documents/3370/9_June_2023.pdf (2,3)Consumer NZ analysis in June 2023. www.consumer.org.nz/articles/prepay-customers-paying-much-more-for-power  Photo sourced from iStock.