With the repealing and replacing of the Mental Health Act currently taking place, now is the time to get this important issue in front of decision makers to ensure provisions are in place in the new legislation to ensure better outcomes for mothers who suffer from a perinatal mental illness. ⚠️ The Issues: • Capability of perinatal mental health services. Currently, there is a significant shortage of resources, leading to a reactive, crisis-driven approach where individuals often only receive help when they are in urgent need, much like an 'ambulance at the bottom of the cliff' response. This results in many not getting the proactive and voluntary care they require until it's too late, and thus results in compulsory treatment orders, or worst case scenario, tragic outcomes.  • Lack of Specialised Care: Current mental health services are insufficiently equipped to support postpartum women, particularly in general psychiatric wards that fail to address the specific needs of mothers. • Trauma of Separation: The separation of mothers from their newborn babies during such a vulnerable time is profoundly damaging to both the mother and the child, exacerbating mental health struggles and hindering recovery. • Need for Accessible Mother and Baby Units: There is an urgent need for mother and baby units that are accessible to all women (including in the regional areas) that would allow mothers experiencing postpartum mental illness to receive the care they need while remaining with their infants, promoting healing and the vital mother-child bond. 💬 Why is this issue important to me?  In 2022, after a complicated pregnancy and birth, I unfortunately developed an acute postpartum mental illness. Despite seeking help voluntarily (which included a declined referral to Maternal Mental Health whilst pregnant, requests for support while becoming unwell in hospital postpartum, and two subsequent visits to the Emergency Department where I was sent home), I was eventually sectioned under the Mental Health Act (1992), and separated from my son just three weeks postpartum. I was placed in the general psychiatric ward in Tauranga, a space that was terrifying, unsafe, and not suitable for a new mother experiencing a postpartum mental illness and recovering from childbirth. The experience left me traumatised, with symptoms of PTSD and severe depression for the first two years of my son’s life. Through my advocacy, I’ve since learned that many others have faced similar trauma due to systemic gaps in perinatal mental healthcare. The lack of specialised support has long-lasting impacts, not only on the mother and baby, but also fathers, and the wider whānau. In 2023, around the time of my son’s first birthday, I wrote to the hospital and public health services to genuinely engage about the issues I faced and suggest areas for improvement. My concerns were dismissed. This led to a decline in my mental health and forced me to step back. But in 2024, I read about the Mental Health Bill (the legislative reform of our Mental Health Act) in the Mental Health Foundation’s newsletter – and decided that this was the right time to speak out, while the issue was on the agenda for decision-makers. I made a written submission on the Mental Health Bill in December 2024, and delivered an oral submission to the Health Committee in February 2025. In May, I started an advocacy page on Instagram called @actionformamas. This is where I raise awareness and share content to help break the stigma of perinatal mental illness, including postpartum psychosis, which is a terrifying yet highly treatable perinatal mental illness that carries a lot of stigma and shame. This illness is what I experienced after the birth of my son.  ✅ The Solutions • Provide proactive, compassionate, culturally appropriate, and specialist care for women who experience severe perinatal mental illness • Prevent traumatic separations, supporting recovery and bonding between māmā and pēpi • Ensure appropriate and sufficient services are in place to improve mental health outcomes for whānau across Aotearoa  By improving perinatal mental health services and funding dedicated mother and baby units, we can ensure that no mother is forced to endure the traumatic separation from their newborn or face inadequate care in a general psychiatric ward. This is essential for the well-being of both mothers and their babies, and it is a necessary step in improving mental health care for all New Zealanders. ✍️ Add your name to support this change. Together, we can stop the trauma and start healing. No māmā should be left behind.

To value our teachers, we must first understand the immense scope of their role. Every day, they are so much more than just educators. They are: • Mentors and Role Models, guiding students through critical stages of their personal and academic development. • Counsellors and Mental Health First Responders, providing a safe space and crucial support for students facing anxiety, stress, and hardship. • Innovators, constantly adapting their teaching methods to cater to diverse learning needs, including those of students with disabilities and learning challenges. • Mediators, skillfully resolving conflicts and teaching students vital social and emotional skills. • Community Liaisons, bridging the gap between school and home, and working closely with whānau to support student success. • Administrators, managing extensive record-keeping, assessment, and reporting requirements, often outside of teaching hours. This immense emotional and administrative labour is performed on top of their core responsibility: to plan and deliver a world-class education. Why Teachers are Essential for Future Generations: Well-supported, fairly compensated, and respected teachers are the foundation of a thriving society. They are directly responsible for cultivating the skills and values our country will need to succeed in the 21st century. • They build a skilled workforce, preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow and driving our economic growth. • They foster critical thinkers and engaged citizens, which are essential for a healthy and robust democracy. • They nurture resilient and empathetic individuals, creating stronger, safer, and more connected communities. When we support our teachers, we are supporting our children and paving the way for a better future for Aotearoa.  Please sign and share this petition, together, we can make a difference and ensure better working conditions for our teachers and school staff.

Education is essential to our community’s future. Everyone who wants to increase knowledge and skills should have the opportunity to learn. NorthTec isn't just a campus, this is the heart of our region, upskilling in tertiary and vocational education in Te Tai Tokerau. NorthTec is Under Threat - Te Tai Tokerau Needs Your Voice! NorthTec was built to serve our people, but now our future is on the line. If proposed cuts go ahead, we risk losing: • Teachers/Kaiako - the heart of our classrooms • Librarians - keeping knowledge alive • The Student Café - a hub for connection   • Student Voice - silencing the voices of ākonga • Student Support Services - academic and pastoral • Disability + Health Services  • Administration and support services (ICT, Marketing, Enrollments, Registrar, Business) • Academic Programmes - admin coordination are the heart of front line delivery • Regional Campuses must stay open with support services • International Students  These proposed cuts will isolate learners, strip away support and threaten the mana of vocational education in Te Tai Tokerau. Sign now, share this amongst whanau and friends and stand with us here at NorthTec/Te Pūkenga. Your signature adds strength to our movement, join us.

Everyone in our community deserves to be housed. People should have agency over their housing, and it should be designed to be fully accessible and based on how people want to live. This would strengthen our communities, make life easier for whānau and provide the stability needed for a thriving city. But successive governments have not done enough to make sure everyone in our community has a suitable housing. Now, the National-led Government plan to sell off state housing and make it less available to our communities. This will lead to more people living in unaffordable and unsuitable private rentals, in their cars and on the streets. It also means that state-owned land will be privatised that should otherwise be returned to hapū and iwi for Māori housing solutions. In Tai Tokerau we have:  - 1000+ households on the Housing Register  - 5856+ people experiencing Severe Housing Deprivation (homelessness) *Census 2023 (grown since data was collected) - Kāinga Ora is selling 59 homes to the private market - And still, this National government has decided to cancel 40 developments, 450 homes that were in the pipeline, that would've housed whānau in need in Tai Tokerau[1] 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. We have built state housing at scale as a solution before, and we can do it again. We are calling on Minister for Housing, Chris Bishop; Minister for Māori Development, Tama Potaka; MP for Whangārei, Shane Reti; and MP for Northland, Grant McCallum to advocate for the people of our communities to ensure that everyone has a decent, stable and accessible home, and to stop the sell off. References: 1. Critical housing shortage: Kāinga Ora axes 40 new Northland projects. Northern Advocate, 12 July 2025

Public housing is a key way that the government can ensure everyone has a decent and stable home. It supports people to live in their communities, close to amenities and jobs.  But for many towns and regions across the country, successive governments have not built state housing, which has forced people into expensive private rentals or into their cars. This is particularly true for tourist destinations like Wānaka and Queenstown where there is a lack of genuinely affordable rental accommodation for the very workers that keep these towns moving. Wānaka and Queenstown have an underlying homelessness issue that is swept under the carpet as they are perceived as higher socioeconomic areas. This means that homelessness is often invisible and ignored, and there is a lack of housing support systems. I am an example of this. I moved to Wānaka from New Plymouth to work in hospitality after the engineering consulting work I was doing dried up. I went from having stable and secure housing to being forced to reside in my car because there was a deep shortage of affordable accommodation. At the age of 60, I spent some nights sleeping in sub-zero temperatures. I was not alone. There were many others sleeping outside - some in cars and others in toilet blocks to stay warm. When requesting emergency accommodation from Work and Income, I was advised that there was no emergency housing available in Wānaka - because there was no need. Yet in 2021, a homeless man froze to death adjacent to the Upper Clutha Rugby Club in our community.[1] This is the same story in Queenstown, where people remain on the housing waitlist for long periods, sleeping in cars and on couches because there is a lack of state and community housing available.[2] People on work visas are hit particularly hard by the housing crisis, with stories of landlords renting out housing in terrible conditions and people sleeping in their cars[3].  At the time of the 2023 Census, Queenstown-Lakes District had 672 people who were severely housing deprived.[4] Yet, the Queenstown-Lakes District only has 15 state homes and 56 community housing provider homes.[5] This makes up just 0.3% of all dwellings.  On top of this, many of the existing rental stock are rented out as short-term rentals such as Airbnb. At Census 2023, 27% of all dwellings were unoccupied compared to 10% nationally[6]. We are calling on decision makers to ensure that everyone in the Queenstown Lakes District has a decent and stable home by building public housing in our community - so workers have secure and genuinely affordable housing. References 1. Woman walking her dogs discovered homeless man dead in Wānaka bushes. Stuff, 20 May 2021 2. The social housing waitlist: Woman told no emergency homes available at all. RNZ, 22 May 2025 3. Queenstown living: Freezing in tents and cars, squeezing into squalid hovels. Stuff, 8 July 2025  4. Aotearoa Data Explorer. Severe Housing Deprivation. Stats NZ 5. The Housing Dashboard. Key Stats by TLA. Ministry of Housing and Urban Development 6. Dwelling Occupancy: Queenstown-Lakes District. Stats NZ

Why is this important? Auckland should be a city built for people, not for cars - no matter where you live everyone should be able to access great, affordable, and reliable public transport. Every Aucklander knows traffic is out of hand and only getting worse Aucklanders spend more than 80 hours a year in traffic on average[1]. It costs the city more than $2billion dollars a year in lost productivity. An estimated 2,247 premature deaths, 9,400 hospitalizations and 13,200 cases of childhood asthma come from vehicle emissions per year in Aotearoa[2]. Transport makes up 39% of Aotearoa's greenhouse gas emissions[3]. It's also expensive: $7,000 a year to maintain a car, and New Zealand has by some measures the highest car ownership in the world. As Auckland continues to grow it is important that we give people alternatives to car ownership. Trains, Buses and Ferries that are all well connected and affordable can make a huge difference. We know this because it happened before. Back in 1955 when the tram system still existed in Auckland, 58% of trips were made via public transport - now in 2025 it’s down to 5%.  It is time to build cities for people and not for cars - sign this petition and together we can make a change!   If it's there people use it: in 1955 when the tram system still existed in Auckland, 58% of trips were made by public transport. Now it's just 5%. 40% of commuters from the North shore now use the Northern Expressway buses. It is possible to build a city for people rather than cars. References 1 https://at.govt.nz/media/pqxhk3cn/auckland-transport-cost-of-congestion-white-paper.pdf 2 https://www.esr.cri.nz/media/edmf0i4c/esr-environmental-health-report-public-health-risks-transport-emissions.pdf 3 https://environment.govt.nz/publications/aotearoa-new-zealands-first-emissions-reduction-plan/transport/

Restoring this vital rail link would benefit over 750,000 people by providing an affordable and accessible alternative to air travel and long-distance coaches, which older and disabled passengers often find inaccessible. It would reduce reliance on private vehicles, improving road safety. Reintroducing this service would boost regional economies, uplift tourism in one of New Zealand’s most beautiful and under-served regions, and build a more connected and equitable transport network for all.

Aotearoa should be a place where people are encouraged and supported by their government to engage in democratic processes. Where usage of plain language in documents is encouraged, and people have the ability to understand their rights within seconds no matter where they come from or what their background is.  Right now our government has chosen to treat accessible language differently to other equitable measures by excluding Plain Language from their budget.  Although plain language is a less tangible concept, the importance of it to people across Aotearoa is no less vital than having wheelchair ramps in public buildings, or sign language interpreters during emergency broadcasts. Simple, easy to read language helps our more vulnerable groups in Aotearoa to receive fair treatment in all sectors of government.  Over 1.3 million adult New Zealanders have low literacy/numeracy skills, with Māori and Pacific peoples significantly overrepresented in this group. This leads to higher barriers in employment, health, income, and civic engagement for these communities[1].  Furthermore, up to 10% of New Zealanders have communication issues, including difficulties that directly affect reading, writing, or understanding official information. There are also more than 11,530 children with swallowing difficulties, 95,000 people with autism, and 60,000 children with auditory processing disorder, all conditions that can impact effective engagement with complex or non-plain language content[2].   Plain language is also a vital tool for older generations, many of whom are navigating digital systems and filling out important forms independently, often without someone to assist them. Keeping Plain Language requirements in legislation means everyone is considered when the government publishes information.  By taking it away, the government is forgetting why it was put into place: to keep all of us in the loop.  No one should have to spend hours filling out and decoding benefit forms, immigration forms, justice information, or health information. The budget we pay for should work for us, too.  Now is the time for us to take action that will protect our most marginalised brothers and sisters. Action that allows for everyone to be part of the conversation, and puts equitable care at the heart of our government's services.  References: 1. An Empirical Portrait of New Zealand Adults Living With Low Literacy and Numeracy Skills. AUT NZ Pathways Research Institute. 2022: https://nzpri.aut.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/522827/An-empirical-portrait-of-New-Zealand-adults-living-with-low-literacy-and-numeracy-skills_report.pdf 2. Communication and Swallowing Disabilities in New Zealand: Data Fact Sheet 2023. Speech-language Therapists New Zealand. 2023: https://speechtherapy.org.nz/assets/Uploads/SLT-Business-Case-2024/Communication-and-Swallowing-Disabilities-in-New-Zealand-Data-Fact-Sheet.pdf?vid=4

No matter who we are, or where we come from, we all deserve to live a life of dignity, free of pain and struggle. A life where we are believed and we have access to the care that we need. However, there are thousands of us every day who live in the abrupt edges of medical understanding and right now, there are far too many women, girls, and people assigned female at birth are being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or denied access to the care and support they need. [3][6]. At least one in seven women, girls, and people assigned female at birth in Aotearoa live with endometriosis (mate kirikopu), a chronic and often disabling inflammatory condition that causes pelvic pain, fatigue, infertility, and damage to multiple organs [1][10]. Despite this, most with endometriosis (mate kirikopu)are not being taken seriously by our health system. The national endometriosis (mate kirikopu) guidelines, last released in 2020 by the Ministry of Health, were never intended to be formal clinical guidance [11]. They are not mandatory, they are missing key protections, and they are letting them fall through the cracks. The current guidelines are not fit for purpose, they are outdated, non-binding, and were never designed to function as formal clinical guidelines. In practice, this leaves women, girls, and people assigned female at birth with endometriosis (mate kirikopu) facing inconsistent care, delayed diagnoses, and limited access to the treatment they need to live full, healthy lives. The current guidance lacks clear timeframes for action, formal referral pathways, youth-specific approaches, accountability mechanisms, and adequate inclusion of Māori, Pasifika, LGBTQIA+, and disabled communities. Too often, those with endometriosis (mate kirikopu) are passed between GPs and emergency departments for years without answers. The average time to diagnosis in Aotearoa is still 7 to 10 years [2][7]. That means they are missing school, losing jobs, giving up dreams of having tamariki, or falling into depression and isolation before they are even believed [3][5][6]. For marginalised groups, the situation is even worse. Young people, Māori, Pasifika, disabled and gender-diverse people are more likely to be dismissed, misdiagnosed, or denied access to care. [3][6]. That means many healthcare providers don’t follow it, and there are no consequences when patients are ignored, misdiagnosed, or left untreated. We need more than just suggestions. We need mandatory, enforceable standards that every health provider in Aotearoa must follow. We need guidelines that uphold mana, affirm lived experience, and work for all, not just a privileged few who can afford private care or know how to fight the system. Studies show that: • The impacts of Endometriosis (mate kirikopu) go far beyond physical pain, impacting mental health, daily functioning, and overall wellbeing with those affected • Up to 98% of women, girls, and people assigned female at birth with endometriosis (mate kirikopu) experience symptoms of depression, and around 87% experience anxiety [1]. These mental health struggles are often made worse by diagnostic delays, medical gaslighting, and lack of access to effective treatment and support [2][3]. • Women, girls, and people assigned female at birth with endometriosis (mate kirikopu) report a significantly reduced quality of life compared to the general population, especially in the areas of physical function, emotional wellbeing, sexual health, and work productivity [4][5]. This is not just due to pain, but also the psychological toll of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or ignored by the healthcare system [3][6]. • Research also shows that youth with endometriosis (mate kirikopu)-like symptoms are often told their pain is normal, resulting in long-term harm to mental health, school attendance, and body trust [7]. Without guidelines that address these impacts holistically and offer clear, equitable pathways to care, women, girls, and people assigned female at birth will continue to fall through the cracks. We need guidelines that work in real life, not just on paper. A community-led review by Endo Warriors Aotearoa and our Youth Advisory Board outlines how the current guidance fails us. It shows the harm caused by relying on hormonal contraception as the default treatment [3] [6], how hard it is to access skilled excision surgery [2] [7], and how little support exists for holistic or culturally grounded pain management [3].  He wā tēnei. It is time. Sign the petition today and stand with our hāpori to demand a new standard of care for endometriosis (mate kirikopu) in Aotearoa, a new standard that embeds lived experience, Māori and Pasifika voices, youth insight, and gender diversity into every part of care, a health system that believes us, supports us, and works for us.  References: [1] Armour, M., et al. (2019). The prevalence and impact of endometriosis symptoms on quality of life among young women: a cross-sectional study. BJOG, 126(6), 755–759. [2] Ballard, K., Lowton, K., & Wright, J. (2006). What’s the delay? A qualitative study of women’s experiences of reaching a diagnosis of endometriosis. Fertility and Sterility, 86(5), 1296–1301. [3] Culley, L., et al. (2018). The social and psychological impact of endometriosis on women’s lives: A critical narrative review. Human Reproduction Update, 24(6), 625–639. [4] Riazi, H., et al. (2014). Clinical diagnosis of pelvic endometriosis: a scoping review. BMC Women’s Health, 14(1), 73. [5] Jones, G., Jenkinson, C., & Kennedy, S. (2004). The impact of endometriosis on quality of life: a qualitative study. BJOG, 111(4), 410–418. [6] Denny, E., & Mann, C. H. (2007). Endometriosis and the primary care consultation. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol, 132(2), 224–228. [7] Missmer, S. A., et al. (2014). Incidence of laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis by demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors. Am J Epidemiol, 179(6), 721–730. [8] Missmer, S. A., et al. (2014). Incidence of laparoscopically confirmed endometriosis by demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors. Am J Epidemiol, 179(6), 721–730. [9] Zhang, T., et al. (2020). The link between endometriosis and autoimmune diseases. Frontiers in Immunology, 11, 339. [10] Ministry of Health. (2020). Diagnosis and Management of Endometriosis in New Zealand. Wellington: Ministry of Health. “While not a formal clinical guideline, it provides a consensus view of best-practice principles.” (p. 2)

No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve to heal with dignity and safety at its core. For survivors of trauma, access to services that nurture healing in a healthy way are paramount - and this support shouldn’t end at our borders.  I’m a survivor of trauma with an accepted sensitive claim under ACC. But the moment I left New Zealand — for safety, for healing, for survival — ACC cut off my access to the counselling I was promised.I’m transgender, disabled, and neurodivergent. Trauma support isn’t optional for me. It’s survival. ACC’s current policy is cruel. It forces people like me to fly back to Aotearoa — sometimes at great risk — just to be reassessed for support we’ve already been approved for. Others have been left without any care at all, as if their pain matters less once they leave the country. I know I’m not the only one. I know there are others — Māori survivors, queer survivors, disabled survivors — who’ve been silenced, cut off, and left to suffer in silence overseas. This matters because trauma doesn’t respect borders, and neither should care - sign this petition and together we can make a change!

We all deserve to have safe, affordable and secure places to call our home. But for the people of Dunedin, landlords are lining their pockets and regularly getting away with squalid housing conditions, far from meeting Healthy Homes Standards.  The consequences of inadequate housing can be far reaching, affecting people’s health and wellbeing. Many students also suffer from sicknesses, due to the cold, damp and unsafe environments in flats.  It’s time for landlords to take responsibility for the properties they profit from. Students shouldn’t have to choose between affordable rent and safe living conditions.  The Healthy Homes standard sets out compliance obligations with respect to keeping homes warm, dry and safe. These standards aren’t enough to be written on a piece of paper. They must be enforced by the MBIE. 

The cost of housing affects us all. In Tāmaki Makaurau, we spend significantly more than the recommended 30% of income. Along with high rents and the decline of home ownership, many in Tāmaki Makaurau are facing housing insecurity. Housing and its cost-of-living impact many who are often only a paycheck away from homelessness. Significantly increasing state housing will help democratise the housing system by providing affordable, secure homes for our whanau and fellow citizens.   Having a stable home is the foundation for a good life – it supports us to build connections with people and places. It creates the conditions for us to be able to connect and contribute to our communities. But successive governments have not done enough to make sure everyone in our community has suitable housing. Now, the National-led Government plans to sell off state housing, has cancelled developments already underway and will make it less available to our communities. This will lead to more people living in unaffordable and unsuitable private rentals, in their cars and on the streets. In the Waitematā Local Board (Auckland Central) area: • Auckland Council has counted a significant increase in “unsheltered homeless” living in the city[1] • The number of households on the Housing Register for Waitematā is 204 (as of June 2026)[2] • There are many more people living in housing stress, who are not on the Housing Register or visibly homeless. At the time of Census 2023 there were 2,517 people living in Severe Housing Deprivation in the Waitematā area[3] • A diverse range of people live and work here, not just the well-off  • Vincent Street is a Kāinga Ora development for 53 homes, which has been cancelled. This development would have provided decent and stable housing, close to amenities 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. We have built state housing at scale as a solution before, and we can do it again.  We are calling on decision makers to ensure that everyone in Auckland Central has a decent and stable home. Restarting the planning and construction of cancelled developments like Vincent Street as soon as possible is what we need to be doing to ensure this happens. References: 1. Analysis: Why it's wrong for politicians to dodge questions about homelessness. RNZ, 5 July 2026   2. MSD Housing Register. MSD, June 2026 3. Severe Housing Deprivation. Aotearoa Data Explorer. StatsNZ