‘Modern-day colonisation’
Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku described Coalition Government policies as “modern-day colonisation” that continued to harm Māori.
As citizens and nurses/ health workers, it was important to understand what lay behind today’s inequities and take action where possible, she said.
“Being part of this big organisation is not just about being a voice, it’s about creating the biggest change we possibly can.”
‘Colonisation was brutal and intentionally annihilated and dispossessed Māori.’
From banning of traditional Māori healers — tapuhi — at the turn of the 20th century, to suppressing all traditional medicines with the Tohunga Suppression Act in 1907, “intentional acts of dispossession” had continued till today, Nuku said.
“This process of colonisation was brutal and intentionally annihilated and dispossessed Māori.”
By seeking to redefine te Tiriti o Waitangi through the Treaty Principles Bill and disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora just nine months after it began, the Coalition Government had shown a “reckless disregard” for Crown-Māori relationships, Nuku said.
Such actions would only impact Māori health, when Māori already struggled with the poorest health outcomes. Meanwhile, Māori nurses were stuck at just seven per cent of the workforce — while migrant nurse numbers had risen dramatically in recent years.
“For many, especially Māori, this has been a time of deep breaths,” said Nuku, who urged college and section members to be brave and be prepared to get political.
NZNO Māori nursing governance board, Te Poari, wanted to work with colleges and sections to “hold the line so that no Government can hide behind introducing shoddy ways of getting policies across the line”.
“Our responsibility is to hold everybody accountable to ensure there is transparency, that there is a well-thought out consultative process . . . and our responsibility is to work together with colleges and sections, which we intend to do.”
In a powerful kōrero about the ongoing violence faced by nurses, NZNO president Anne Daniels spoke of the violence and alcoholism she endured within her family as a child.
But, at 14, she changed her life. Nursing too could also change — and must, she said.
‘I was powerless — but we don’t need to stay in that place. We can change it.’
“I spent my childhood running away from home with my mother down the street. When I was 14, on one particular day I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I ran next door and asked Mrs Jones if I could use her phone and I rang the police. The police answered the phone and said, ‘This is a private matter’.
“I was powerless — but we don’t need to stay in that place. We can change it,” she told about 50 specialist nurses from NZNO’s 20 colleges and sections in Wellington this month.
“What I did after that day, is I told Mum I couldn’t stay and watch what was happening. And I left home, got myself a job and I kept going to school.”
Nurses, too, needed to be “change agents of our profession”, she said. “We have to do it for ourselves, with our patients who are also suffering. Together, we need to make this change.”
Violence ‘huge problem’
Violence and aggression was a huge problem, experienced by many nurses particularly in emergency departments (EDs). Yet few reported such incidents, Daniels said.
“We can be part of changing that if only we do one thing – and that is report.”
Nurses and caregivers could also share their experiences with unsafe staffing here which would support NZNO legal action against Te Whatu Ora over its failure to provide a safe and healthy workplace.
“We can stand up and fight back, using our political, professional and industrial power. Those stories we tell can link those three corners up . . . and go to the courts of this land where we can change our story to realise the best outcomes for ourselves and our patients.”
‘We can turn this around. . . we can actually change the health of our population.’
Change was also needed in the community, Daniels said.
“We are siloed — primary health and aged care have been poor cousins. We know there is absolute disparity for people working in those sectors being paid less, with worse conditions,” she said.
“We can turn this around. . . If we focus on those, particularly primary health, we can actually change the health of our population.”
She said it was very important for nurses to lead the way, with the guidance of NZNO strategy Maranga Mai!.
Deregulation
Other nurses spoke of the potential dangers of proposed changes to the Health Practitioners Competency Assurance Act 2003, fearing a risk to patients if less-costly unregulated workers replace skilled nurses or other kaiāwhina.
This was already happening, some said.
Neonatal nurses college Aotearoa secretary Michelle Willows said changing a nappy might seem like an easy task “but someone who is not qualified in our speciality does not understand the fragility of pre-term neonatal skin or the potential long-term developmental harm that could be caused from simply handling or positioning a baby in the wrong way”.
‘Unleash your power’
Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku laid a strong wero for colleges and sections to “unleash the power” of nursing’s professional voice at a time of great challenge.
Nurses were being forced to work within a health budget which did not reflect patient need and Te Whatu Ora had failed to employ almost half the country’s graduates in 2024 — and even fewer for enrolled nurse graduates, she said.
“The only people who understand the crisis are the people represented in this room,” she said. “How do we shift the power of politics to be the power of the professional voice? That’s our challenge . . . and our challenge has never been more significant than now.”
‘Your voice is the most trusted, most respected and most acknowledged. The public listen to you and respond.’
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter also challenged college and section members to speak out as experts in their field.
“Your voice is the most trusted, most respected and most acknowledged. The public listen to you and respond.”
NZNO’s purpose was to become the leading voice of health — and as such advocate for a quality public health system that was equitable, accessible, affordable, recognised te Tiriti o Waitangi “and actually does the business”. To achieve that, members needed to lead the drive for change, he said.
“I’m deliberately challenging our leadership of colleges and sections to step up . . . I reckon you’ve done really well so far, but there’s a whole lot more to do.”
Goulter said there must be no separation between NZNO’s industrial, professional or political parts:
“We are only going to win this by joining up, working together and leveraging our strengths in such a way that ensures colleges and sections are the leading voice in their specialty . . . and we have a health system that everyone in this country is going to be proud of.”
