Anne Daniels, President
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO

Treasury recently stated that our health system will either need to be cut back or taxes will need to be raised to fund it.

I thought……WHAT? Didn’t the new coalition government promise no cuts to the front line? Aotearoa has an ageing population and levels of inequality where many cannot enjoy the opportunities of living in a wealthy country. The poem What will matter (abridged) by Michael Josephson suggests we all need to….

Live a life that matters
Ready or not, someday it will all come to an end.
So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.
Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident.
It’s not a matter of circumstance, but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

And so we all should. But what happens when the very government that shapes the environment in which we live and work makes every day an ever-increasing struggle where our individual and collective choices are being dismantled and everything, we have fought so hard for, including the structures that protect you at work” are being torn apart?

My recent blog on injustice identified similar issues. So why are we involved in this escalating struggle with our current government? One commentator recently said the coalition government has taken a match to the hopes and dreams of Māori (and Tauiwi), resulting in a bonfire that is burning them down as quickly as possible without using due process and without remorse.

Our government’s processes, behaviours and policies must be called into question. The role of government and its officials is to serve the public interest with ethical awareness and ethical actions, and to act for the common good. These ideals seem to have been thrown out the window along with both the baby and the bathwater without any concern to the harm that may land on those standing below.

What does it mean for us as NZNO members and for those we care for?

Politics and governmental decision-making affect us all in terms of funding, resources, and our ability to do our jobs to the professional standards we must uphold. Further it has the potential to increase our current struggles, the lack of nurses, poor work-life balance, the lack of protection from accountants whose only bottom line is the dollar.

OUR bottom line must be the provision of safe, evidenced-based care, where and when it’s needed, going forward. Only then will we realise a healthy nation instead of an increasingly sick one.

So, we must “Maranga Mai!” – Rise up together all the while remembering…

If in our hearts we do not yield,
We will overcome.