Te Whatu Ora – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

April 2026

Decision time for members — new offer on the table from Te Whatu Ora

By Mary Longmore and Joel Maxwell

April 24, 2026

It decision time for the 36,000 NZNO Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ (HNZ) members as they consider new potential terms of settlement in bargaining.

April 2026

New uniforms a ‘cost saving’, claims chief nurse after backlash

By Mary Longmore

April 4, 2026

Thousands of new uniforms being rolled out around the country for senior nurses, registered nurses and health-care assistants will save costs, claims Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand (HNZ) chief nurse Nadine Gray.

March 2026

Expect more hacks, but ‘no going back’ warns nurse and health information expert

By Joel Maxwell

March 8, 2026

The shiny new digital world of health care in 2026 is starting to look a lot like the dusty old world of the Wild West — even the names are recycled, reveals Karen Day.

February 2026

Te Whatu Ora bargaining team returns to table with strong member backing

By Joel Maxwell

February 18, 2026

The question was asked, and the answer was simple. Keep going.

February 2026

‘We are at a turning point’ — NZNO’s Te Whatu Ora bargaining team

By Dawn Barrett

February 12, 2026

‘We now need to know if you want to continue the fight, continue to advocate for our patients and colleagues for enforceable safe staffing.’

January 2026

‘Fighting for the future of public health’: The personal toll of 16 months of bargaining

By Allister Dietschin

February 4, 2026

After 16 months, 42 meetings and several large strikes, Christchurch health-care assistant, delegate and ‘long-time socialist’ Allister Dietschin says 2024-26 bargaining has felt particularly gruelling.

January 2026

‘We are prepared to go hard, if that’s what members want’ — frustrated bargaining team back at the table

By Mary Longmore

January 30, 2026

‘Day 42, enough said!’ These are the words of NZNO’s hard-working bargaining team, wrangling jobs and Te Whatu Ora since late 2024.

January 2026

From concept to screen: a step-wise approach to creating health education videos

By Tracy Klap, Jacqui Grannetia, Stephen James and Maureen Coombs

January 15, 2026

Health education videos are increasingly being used to provide information to patients and whānau as they navigate their way through health services.

January 2026

Visibility strikes: ‘Annoy the powers that be but keeps our message alive’

By Renee Kiriona

January 7, 2026

Outspoken NZNO delegate Al Dietschin is calling on all unionised hospital nurses and health workers to take part in visibility strikes, to keep the spotlight on safe staffing.

January 2026

He āputa ā-pūtea kua huraina — ko te take e hiahia nei te 80 ōrau o ēnei tapuhi kia wehe

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Kua whāki atu ngā tapuhi hauora tuatahi mō ō rātou utu ā-hāora — kia tūhura ake pea i te take ka moemoeā te 80 ōrau o rātou mō ā rātou wehe i te rāngai.

January 2026

Cash gap revealed — why 80 per cent of these nurses think of escaping

By Joel Maxwell

December 10, 2025

Nurses in grassroots health care have dished on pay rates, workloads and just how many of them have considered leaving the sector.

December 2025

‘One of yours’: Rebuilding a safe and coherent mental health crisis system

By Stacey Wilson

December 9, 2025

Mental health crisis services in Aotearoa have endured a decade of increasing pressure, but the past year has pushed the workforce to a critical tipping point.

November 2025

Biggest nurse graduate intake ‘in a decade’, claims Te Whatu Ora

By Mary Longmore

November 28, 2025

After two years of struggle and a public outcry over jobless nurse graduates, Te Whatu Ora says it’s hiring the ‘biggest intake in a decade’.

November 2025

End-of-year graduate jitters on job-offer day

By Mary Longmore

November 28, 2025

More than 2000 end-of-year nursing graduates are enduring a nail-biting wait to hear whether they will land their dream job at Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand.

October 2025

‘Do it for the patients’: Nurse shares advice, encouragement ahead of partial strikes

By Joel Maxwell

November 5, 2025

It’s new, it’s different and it means facing new challenges — but do it for the patients, says a nurse with experience of groundbreaking partial strikes.

October 2025

‘Shoulder to shoulder’ — nurses prepare ahead of historic 100,000-strong day of actions

By Joel Maxwell

October 22, 2025

How do you prepare a rally speech for a day when nearly two per cent of the population of Aotearoa strikes?

October 2025

Canterbury strike action: 93 days of wearing their message on their sleeves

By Renee Kiriona

October 20, 2025

Thousands of nurses, midwives and health-care workers have begun 93 days of partial strike action at the South Island’s largest hospital.

October 2025

Mythbusting: NZNO expert tackles Te Whatu Ora’s safe staffing denials

By Mary Longmore

October 10, 2025

Even after Te Whatu Ora was forced to reveal how dangerously understaffed New Zealand’s hospitals are, its leaders seem to still be in denial, NZNO’s safe staffing expert says.

October 2025

Corrections nurses, health-care assistants vote for October strike amid staff safety fears

By Joel Maxwell

October 7, 2025

Prison nurses and health-care assistants have voted to strike this month — frustrated at Corrections’ refusal to address safety concerns after months of bargaining.

September 2025

Ko Rebecca Fenn: Mai i Rānana ki tāna taraiwa i te pahi me te āwhina ki a rātou “kei raro e putu ana”

By Renee Kiriona

October 6, 2025

Kua whakawhiwhia Rebecca Fenn te tohu Mātanga Tapuhi o te Tau, nā tōna tamaititanga i waenganui i te “rongo ki ngā hōhipera” me “te tākaro hei nēhi” i whakaohooho i a ia kia atawhai i te iwi.

Daily doses – uncut news

28 Apr	CTU launches Roving Health and Safety Representatives policy on Workers’ Memorial Day The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has today launched our Roving Health and Safety Representatives policy at the Workers’ Memorial Day commemoration in Wellington, with further events held across the motu in Manawatū, Christchurch, and Otago.
24 Apr	“The 80s Calling”: New national campaign challenges outdated HIV stigma Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey today launched Health New Zealand’s “The 80s Calling”; a provocative new campaign designed to reduce stigma, normalise conversations about HIV, and support people living with HIV.
23 Apr	Government’s attack on Māori health raised at the UN Concerns over the Coalition Government’s active reversal of policies designed to improve Māori health outcomes were raised at the United Nations in New York this morning.
16 Apr	Tribute to Professor Lester Levy’s service to healthcare Health New Zealand Chief Executive Dr Dale Bramley is paying tribute to Health NZ Board Chair Professor Lester Levy, who finishes in the role at the end of the month.
10 Apr	Chronic health care assistant short staffing harming vulnerable patients Te Whatu Ora’s attempt to cut costs by requiring health care assistants to carry out cohort patient watches is harming vulnerable patients and staff, NZNO says.
9 Apr	New group education clinics speeding up knee and hip surgery care Health New Zealand is rolling out a new group education approach for people waiting for hip and knee surgery in north and west Auckland, resulting in more patients being seen sooner.
25 Mar	National Diabetes Roadmap launched to improve care, prevention, and quality of life Health New Zealand has launched a new National Diabetes Roadmap (‘the Roadmap’) to improve care, strengthen prevention, and support better health outcomes and quality of life for people living with diabetes.
24 Mar	ACT should leave nursing to professionals and medical evidence Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says ACT MP Todd Stephenson has dismissed the Nursing Council’s draft code of conduct - which proposes strengthening cultural safety, whānau-centred care and te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations - as political ideology.
23 Mar	UK report reflects ICN warnings on international recruitment ripoff — now countries must act together The International Council of Nurses (ICN) warmly welcomes a new report from the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Global Health and Security that recognizes the huge sums saved by high-income countries who recruit abroad and acknowledges the severe harms caused by unethical recruitment from fragile source countries left without nurses.
20 Mar	HPV self-test boosts cervical cancer screening ‘across the board’, new study confirms Making human papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing available to all women increases the number of people screened for cervical cancer, a new study led by researchers from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington has confirmed.
19 Mar	ICN at CSW70: Violence against nurses is a gendered crisis threatening global health The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has warned that violence against nurses is a global gendered crisis that threatens health systems, patient safety and workforce sustainability
17 Mar	Additional winter health care workers a drop in the ocean of need The Government’s announcement today of 378 extra staff to help hospitals cope with winter demand is a drop in the ocean of what patients need, NZNO says.
12 Mar	Funding change will ensure more consistent emergency care for New Zealanders A simple change in how ambulance medicines are funded is set to create more consistent emergency care.
9 Mar	Questions over dilapidated and cramped renal unit forced to ration dialysis The Health Minister must explain why after years of concerns from nurses about Christchurch Hospital’s barely functioning dialysis unit, he only stepped in late yesterday when life-saving treatment had to be rationed, NZNO says.
3 Mar	Hospitals and health workers should never be targets The right of health care workers to provide care during international conflicts must be protected, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO says.
2 Mar	Public and Mental Health Nurses settle collective agreement Health New Zealand welcomes the ratification of the two Public Service Association (PSA) Public and Mental Health Nurses collective employment agreements for Auckland and the Rest of New Zealand.
27 Feb	Whakatāne Hospital to resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services Whakatāne Hospital will resume secondary obstetrics and gynaecology services from 8am on 13 April 2026.
26 Feb	Counsellors warn NZ is normalising crisis levels of youth distress Youth mental distress has become entrenched, suicide remains a national tragedy, and our systems are failing to intervene early enough, says the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
26 Feb	Record uptake nearly doubles advanced nurse education scholarships A record 235 primary care registered nurses will begin advanced education this year – nearly doubling the number originally planned – following strong demand for the Government’s new Registered Nurse Primary Care Scholarships, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
19 Feb	‘Top Up’ to deliver faster access to support Seven grassroots mental health initiatives supporting small and hard-to-reach communities have received funding to deliver faster access to support, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announced today.
18 Feb	Pharmac proposes funding new treatments that could transform early care for people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer People in New Zealand living with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) could soon benefit from funded access to targeted treatments under a new proposal from Pharmac.
13 Feb	Te Whatu Ora’s embarrassing U-turn over proposed car park plan Te Whatu Ora needs to go back to the drawing board and prioritise worker safety after reversing plans to charge hospital workers market rates for car parks, NZNO says.
11 Feb	Stark differences in COVID-19 vaccination rates between Māori and non-Māori, research finds A new study analysing COVID-19 vaccine uptake has found markedly lower vaccination rates among Māori, which researchers link to existing inequities in healthcare access.
9 Feb	ICN’s call for International Nurses Day 2026: empower nurses to save lives ICN has announced the theme for International Nurses Day (IND) 2026: Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives. This focus sends a clear message that to maximize the full life-saving impact of the nursing workforce, we must empower nurses with safe, fair work environments and full nursing practice, influence, and leadership.
5 Feb	Global nurse leaders gather in Japan to address urgent workforce crisis Nursing leaders from Japan and around the world are gathering in Yokohama this week for two major nursing events that are advancing the global conversation on how countries can protect, retain and invest in their nursing workforce as pressures mount across health systems worldwide.
4 Feb	Midwives to deliver more vaccinations to help protect families Midwives are now able to offer a wider range of funded immunisations, supporting families from pregnancy through the early months of a child’s life, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
30 Jan	Opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro – Mason Clinic Health New Zealand has marked the opening of E Tū Wairua Hinengaro, a new purpose-built facility at Auckland’s Mason Clinic designed to strengthen and modernise forensic mental healthcare in Aotearoa.
29 Jan	NZNO disgusted by nurse’s killing in the US Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO has expressed disgust at the shooting and killing of nurse Alex Pretti on a Minneapolis, US street on Saturday morning by federal officers.
27 Jan	New national group forms to support public healthcare in Aotearoa Kaitiaki Hauora - Together for Public Health has been formed as a national group bringing together patients, health workers, iwi and Māori health representatives, unions, advocacy organisations, and community groups, with backing from a growing number of organisations across the health sector.
22 Jan	Pharmac proposes to fund life changing treatments for people with cystic fibrosis Pharmac is proposing to fund new treatment options for people living with cystic fibrosis with eligible mutations, including young children, from 1 April 2026.
05 Jan	Nurses pay tribute to Dame Poutasi The passing of Dame Karen Poutasi has seen Aotearoa lose one of its foremost health leaders and a woman of high integrity, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku says.