NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku announced that NZNO had won the bid to a full house of applause at the AGM held in Rotorua on Tuesday.
The international conference, recently held in Nashville in the US, is touted as an opportunity for global leaders in advanced-practice nursing to connect and shape the profession’s future.
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Nuku said NZNO put in the bid to host the 2028 event two years ago at Helsinki. This was the first time ever that a national nursing organisation had done this, she said.
“I want to acknowledge the profession side of our organisation — because this is the opportunity to show what it is that is unique about us. To put on display as a small island country in the South Pacific how we’ve managed to stand up and to challenge and compete as nurses in this space.”
NZNO members would need to unite for 2028 and show its collective voice as a professional and industrial organisation: “Show our power, our will and courage to put Aotearoa and professional nursing on this international stage.”
Nuku launched her address with praise for members’ hard mahi in raising health-care issues.
“What we are seeing through these active campaigns is an NZNO that is rising up, that is maranga mai . . . and if you looked over the last few months you would see in almost every single week there is some sort of action that is coming from the members.”
Speaking after Nuku’s announcement, NZNO president Anne Daniels gave her address — thanking all members who had “disrupted respectfully, challenged constructively, and led unapologetically”.
NZNO was being noticed “where it counts” as the election in November approached, she said. “We can even make the Minister of Health look frazzled on national television.”
Health care was arguably the most pressing concern for the public in the election season, Daniels said.
Action over the past few months has included a health and safety strike in the Gisborne Hospital emergency department (ED), a letter sent to Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ (HNZ) declaring a state of emergency in the Tauranga Hospital ED, and two strikes in the Waitakere Hospital Muriwai ward.
Speaking about safe staffing, Daniels said without the members, the entire health system would grind to a halt.
“Let’s stop calling it short staffing, when it happens every single shift. When unsafe staffing becomes normal it is no longer an unexpected shortage — it is a deliberate business decision.”
Patients and nurses were the ones dealing with the consequences, she said.
“NZNO has been instrumental through you, being a memberhship-led organisation . . . to expose the lies and coverups of the Coalition Government regarding the state of of our health-care system failings.”
Meanwhile NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter made his initial address to the conference, acknowledging the “tremendous” fight from members over the last year.
NZNO had taken up the challenge of becoming a lead voice in health and nursing, he said.
“You can just see the media following it, and see the public following it: And that’s only occurred because nurses and NZNO members are prepared to stand up and be counted.”
Chair of the ICN NP/APN network Josette Roussel zoomed in from Canada during the conference to congratulate NZNO for bringing an “amazing opportunity for nurses to come together . . . from many countries”. She said at the recent Nashville conference there were more than 1300 nurses — advanced practitioners, NPs and “friends” from 70 countries.
The AGM ran for the afternoon — following a pōwhiri welcoming members — with the NZNO’s annual conference running for two days from Wednesday.
Speakers at the conference included economist Max Rashbrooke, giving a rundown of the political situation ahead of the election, Māori nurse educator and 2026 Akenehi Hei award winner, Pipi Barton, as well as Sarah Beaman, secretary of the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union.
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