Budget 2026 papers yesterday confirmed a key Coalition promise between National and NZ First in 2023 was to ensure Plunket was funded to do their job properly.
But, despite that, there was no new funding for the beloved Kiwi institution — which in some areas still needs to fundraise in able to meet the needs of whānau and pēpē, Cook said.
“I don’t think anyone would say Plunket has the funding it needs to do our job properly. Whānau Āwhina Plunket runs on the smell of an oily rag,” Cook said in an NZNO release.
Cook — who is an NZNO delegate — said Plunket saw about 80 per cent of New Zealand’s newborn babies.
Yet its nurses were paid “considerably less” than those in hospitals, she said.
Plunket nurses’ pay equity claim was among 33 cancelled by the Government last year — just weeks away from being raised.
Cook called on the Government to keep its promise and fund Plunket properly.
That would allow the organisation to keep nurses from leaving for better paid hospital jobs — and result in more babies being seen by a skilled and experience Plunket nurse, she said.
NZNO Plunket and hospice nurses have since raised new claims under the amended pay equity laws. They were followed last week by Bupa aged-care nurses.
Primary health-care nurses have expressed shock over the cutting of hauora Māori initiatives such as immunise your tamariki in yesterday’s Budget — while cancer nurses said a decision to drop the bowel cancer screening age from 58 to 56 for all did not achieve equity but was a “step in the right direction”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon promised before the 2023 Election that New Zealand would match Australia’s bowel screening which is free to ages 45-74.
Overall, there was $1.45 billion new funding into health announced yesterday — however much of it was not ring-fenced.
Funding for hauora Māori sank by $11.5m overall – with cuts to existing tamariki immunisation ($47.2m) and other health programmes, as well a $1.3m cut to maternal mental health funding. These cancelled out $37m in new funding
Brown said yesterday the Government was “fixing the basics” with investment in elective surgeries (24,000), cancer treatments (24,000), inpatient care (42,000), emergency care (26,000), general practice enrolments (53,000) and aged care beds (272,000).
Kaitiaki has approached Minister of Health Simeon Brown for a response to the Plunket funding.