17 September 2019

Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou katoa.
It is my pleasure to welcome you all here to NZNO’s 26th AGM and to the Conference tomorrow.

I would like to acknowledge the outgoing Board, the incoming Board, Te Poari and the Membership Committee. I would like to thank our exhibitors and sponsors for both the AGM today and Conference tomorrow, and especially our sponsors Summerset and Pharmac.

The theme of tomorrow’s Conference is “Leaving No One Behind – Health For All” and I want to talk about the past financial year in light of that theme which captures the very reason we exist as an organisation.

We are here to support nurses, midwives, student nurses and health care workers as they work daily to ensure “no one is left behind”.

Nurses are there for us from the day we are born to the day we die, and on many occasions in between. They provide expert but compassionate care, often under trying circumstances. They are trained, knowledgeable and skilled, and they positively affect the health and wellbeing of us all.

The theme of our AGM and Conference is an appropriate one as it relates to the first pillar of our Strategic Plan which is improved health outcomes.  We want a sustainable, strong and skilled nursing workforce (the second and third pillars) so all people living in New Zealand can be healthier, and no one is left behind.

On top of what we achieve for members by supporting them in their nursing professional practice and negotiating collective agreements, there is the collaboration we engage in with the Ministry of Health, employers and other partners to improve working conditions and achieve pay equity.

As well as the industrial and professional support we give members daily, there is the research and advocacy work we do to improve policy around nursing both here and internationally in collaboration with other organisations.

A lot of what we do is highlighted in the Annual Report for the year 2018/19 and in my CE report within it. In what has been a challenging year, it is timely to focus on the positive. Alongside our members, we are doing many good things for the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders so no one is left behind.

I would be remiss not to mention our membership growth and finances. At the end of March this year our membership numbers reached 52,093 – an increase of 2.7 percent from the previous year; and we are currently at 51,339 members.

We ended the year with a net financial surplus of $153,288.  The gains from the investment portfolio increased that to $996,164.

I would like to conclude by reminding us, as I have done before, that united we stand, divided we fall. We are one profession with many roles and voices, we are a collective and together we can continue to have a massive influence. Together we make an effective team.

I would like to place on record my sincere appreciation the work our staff have done on your behalf.  I also thank you as delegates for the many volunteer hours you have put into NZNO’s work.

No reira, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou, Tēnā koutou katoa.

Memo Musa, NZNO Chief Executive