Central to our advocacy in support of public and community services and the workers that deliver them is our position that as a nation we can choose a vision of a better Aotearoa New Zealand.
The PSA considers that more, not less funding is required to ensure that public and community services can meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Responding to climate change and weather-related events, and delivering services to our growing and ageing population are just some of these critical priorities. Grasping the opportunity to create a society where people can thrive, prosper and be kept safe will rely on investment in housing, healthcare and hospitals, education and schools, water pipes, public transport and roads, science, and preserving the environment.
Like all nations we will build our future on our past. Our nation grew out of the partnership between Māori and the Crown, expressed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Our challenge and opportunity will be to grapple with how we ensure there is an ongoing commitment to Mana Motuhake Māori (Māori self determination) and the use of te reo Māori and tikanga Māori (Māori language and custom).
Providing a sustainable future for our tamariki (children) and mokopuna (grandchildren) will mean protecting our whenua (land) and Awa (lakes, streams, and rivers) and investing in Ranginui (reducing carbon emissions).
Our campaign
The Government’s policies are not meeting these challenges. Instead of investment the Government is cutting funding and services to pay for tax cuts. Instead of meeting the aspirations of its Te Tiriti partners, the government is flirting with rewriting Te Treaty Principles without consideration and consultation with Te Iwi Māori (Te Tiriti partner).
We believe it is critical to present an alternative vision developed with members for a better, fairer society and to also call out what we are losing through the Government’s planned cuts to funding and services.
Our campaign will offer aspirational alternatives of what is possible if we choose to invest in a better future rather than just a negative commentary on the Government’s cuts. We intend to focus on the services families, whānau and communities rely on every day.
Delivering the campaign
Members and the public will be able to access campaign material on our website and via shareables on social media channels. Through the use of contrasting statements we will illustrate what Aotearoa needs for a better future and how the Government’s policies are failing us.
Some examples include:
• What we need – Safe drinking water; What we’re getting – Water reforms axed with no clear plan
• What we need – Safe, sustainable public transport; What we’re getting – Auckland Fuel tax and light rail scrapped
• What we need – Better health outcomes for Māori; What we’re getting – Te Aka Whai Ora, disestablished
Members across the union with expertise in specific services will help to refine these messages.
As we roll out the campaign over the next three years, we will add in resources members and the public can use to spread our developing vision for a better future. This will include videos, member and community stories, introductions to allies in the community, letters and petitions.
Smarter choices
Our campaign is underpinned by a wider view of the role of the economy has to build a better future for all New Zealanders.
The government says it needs to make cuts because we have a high public debt. However as CTU policy director Craig Renney says in his Last Word column on page 30, we don’t have a debt crisis; what we have is a crisis of economic imagination.
Global Credit ratings agency Standard and Poors says we have “excellent institutions, a wealthy economy, and moderate public indebtedness”. New Zealand is in the rarefied group of 20 countries with the lowest borrowing costs and highest credit ratings.
Cutting services isn’t inevitable. It’s a choice the government is making. We believe there are better choices.
"Cutting services isn’t inevitable. It’s a choice the government is making. We believe there are better choices.”
And as University College London economist and professor of innovation and public value Mariana Mazzucato has argued in her work, economic growth can only be built on a strong foundation, which includes the natural environment and public services and the homes, hospitals and schools that support everyone to thrive.
How the planet is doing and how we look after each other are critical to all aspects of our way of life including economy.
We will keep you updated as the campaign unfolds.
