August 2025 – Page 2 – Kaitiaki Nursing New Zealand

August 2025

Watch: ‘Their kids can’t afford shoes’ – NZNO pay equity submission goes before the people’s select committee

By Joel Maxwell

August 13, 2025

WATCH: The Government dodged consultation but now NZNO has joined submitters to the people’s select committee laying out the impacts of axed pay equity claims.

Watch: ‘Their kids can’t afford shoes’ – NZNO pay equity submission goes before the people’s select committee

August 2025

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Psychologist associate’ role knocked back by professional standards board — for now

By Mary Longmore

August 11, 2025

NZNO’s mental health nurses say they are pleased New Zealand’s psychologists’ regulator has turned down a “distracting” proposed new assistant/associate psychologist role — for now.

August 2025

South Island practice nurse-to-prescriber training hits 100 grads

By Kaitiaki coeditors

August 7, 2025

A free training programme upskilling nurses at general practices across the South Island to prescribe common medications is celebrating 100 graduates — and a boost in community nurses’ confidence.

August 2025

Tale of two weekends: Nurses mull more strikes for safe staffing as PM says health system ‘fixed’

By Joel Maxwell

August 7, 2025

One weekend, but two systems, two worlds — and now potentially two days of strikes.

August 2025

“Proud of them” – more IQNs finding strength to strike

By Renee Kiriona and Joel Maxwell (Co-Editors)

August 7, 2025

In Aotearoa New Zealand, striking has long been acceptable when workers’ rights are under threat. But now NZNO’s internationally qualified nurses are getting in on the act as well — and those that don’t are getting a bad case of FOMO.

August 2025

‘I felt extremely proud to walk alongside the nurses’

By Joan Oxlee

August 6, 2025

I felt extremely privileged and proud to walk alongside the nurses and the three students from Takapuna Girls High who were there supporting the strike.

August 2025

E hia kē ngā rau tapuhi Māori ka “mauri ake” ai ā tērā wiki

By Renee Kiriona (te reo Māori translation by Joel Maxwell)

August 6, 2025

Ka hui mai ngā rau tapuhi Māori nō ngā pito e whā o te whenua ā tērā wiki i Rotorua mō te Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference.

August 2025

Profiles of the candidates for the NZNO board election

By NZNO board candidates

August 5, 2025

Below are the profiles of the candidates for the NZNO board elections, written by the candidates themselves. Online voting for the election starts on Wednesday, August 6.

August 2025

Hundreds of Māori nurses to “mauri” up next week

By Renee Kiriona

August 5, 2025

Hundreds of Māori nurses from throughout the country will gather in Rotorua next week for the annual Indigenous Nurses Aotearoa Conference.

August 2025

‘Hell no! Aotearoa is my home’ — graduate told to look overseas

By Renee Kiriona

August 1, 2025

Shayna Tiatia heard the Government’s call for more nurses during the COVID lockdown in 2020. She wanted to help the sick, ill and injured in her community and region. She did the training, got the degree. But now she can’t get a job and has been told to look overseas.

July 2025

‘Just the beginning’, say fed-up nurses and kaiāwhina as 24-hour strike wraps

By Mary Longmore

July 31, 2025

After tens of thousands of nurses, midwives and health-care assistants hit the picket lines, members warn more strikes are coming.

July 2025

Pay equity changes ‘a major regression in women’s rights’

By Judy McGregor

July 31, 2025

The cancelling of pay-equity claims is a significant regression in women’s rights in this country and had no political mandate.

August 2025

‘Nurses are part of our family’ — author pays back support with march alongside strikers

By Joel Maxwell

July 30, 2025

Author Emily Writes joined marchers in central Wellington during Wednesday’s strike — lending support to the profession that became part of her family after her son’s health struggles.

July 2025

More than 36,000 voices shake ‘ivory towers’ as members walk off hospital floors around Aotearoa

By Joel Maxwell and Renee Kiriona

July 30, 2025

NZNO members shook Aotearoa’s “ivory towers” with 36,000 combined voices as they walked off hospital floors around the country on Wednesday morning.

July 2025

Government got a cheek to be ‘disappointed’ — Starship nurse

By Haim Ainsworth

July 30, 2025

Haim Ainsworth is a 37-year veteran nurse and staff nurse at Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland. He brought the house down when he took to the stage to speak at Auckland’s strike action rally which saw thousands of nurses turn out.

July 2025

‘Kia tū māia’ — ngā kupu tautoko a ngā tapuhi hauora matua ki ngā kiriporotū o Te Whatu Ora

By Joel Maxwell

July 28, 2025

Nurses took an oath, clinical nurse co-ordinator Ayla Evans-Warmenhoven said, and frankly it’s getting tough keeping it.

July 2025

‘PS – go hard’ — primary health-care nurses’ words of support for Te Whatu Ora strikers

By Joel Maxwell

July 28, 2025

Nurses took an oath, clinical nurse co-ordinator Ayla Evans-Warmenhoven said, and frankly it’s getting tough keeping it.

July 2025

2025 New Zealand Nurses Organisation Elections — Notice of Confirmed Candidates

By Warwick Lampp

July 25, 2025

Nominations for the 2025 New Zealand Nurses Organisation elections closed at 12 noon, Friday 18 July 2025.

July 2025

‘We like a steady climb’ — flight and land transport nurses on the up

By Lynette Will

July 25, 2025

NZNO college of air & surface transport nurses (COASTN) have fought long and hard for a voice on air ambulance restructuring — and they have won.

July 2025

EXCLUSIVE:’Shocking’ low job rates for our latest nurse graduates, figures reveal

By Joel Maxwell and Mary Longmore

July 25, 2025

Less than half — just 45 per cent — of registered nursing graduates have been matched to supported-entry roles at Te Whatu Ora after mid-year finals, Kaitiaki can reveal.

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.
12 Dec	Holidays Act remediation payments update As of 12 December 2025, more than 83,000 current employees (representing nearly 93% of the current workforce) have been paid over $657m holidays act remediation payments for their current role.
8 Dec	Expanding access to everyday medicines Registered nurse prescribers can now prescribe nearly double the number of medicines, significantly expanding access to timely, local care for New Zealanders, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
1 Dec	Govt breaking promise to local communities Labour’s new Family Doctor Loan Scheme will support doctors and nurse practitioners with low-interest loans to set up new practices or buy into existing ones.