Tēnā koutou e te whānau

Welcome to the kōrero edition of Te Mahinga Ora. We’ve chosen the theme of korero because in these turbulent times we will need to be talking with the Government, employers, and each other more than ever.

The theme (and the beautiful cover) was inspired by the whakataukī: “E koekoe te tūī, e ketekete te kākā, e kūkū te kererū”, the meaning of which may be understood as “By appreciating all our voices, our different songs, we make good music for the future”. While the tūī, kākā and kererū are all different, each has its own distinctive sound and they are positively different and significant for their own reasons.

The talk we are highlighting leads to new ways of thinking and action. In this edition of Te Mahinga Ora you’ll find plenty of topics for discussion and stories of how we are taking action on behalf of members.

There’s an update on the industrial action at the Crown Research Institute NIWA, which saw pickets outside many of its sites and on a research vessel, and the lodging of more than 180 personal grievance cases.

We also report on the Have Your Say activity at the start of the year which saw delegates, organisers and members doing a great job moving quickly to organise meetings and surveys, and write submissions to public sector chief executives outlining ways for improving things without cutting jobs.

The Government is considering public sector chief executives' plans in the lead up to the Budget on May 30, when we will see for the first time the full extent of how severely they plan to cut public services.

In the meantime, the government has pushed ahead with big changes, often choosing speed over giving New Zealanders a chance to discuss what’s happening. The abolition of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, which was rushed through Parliament under urgency is a case in point. The change was hugely significant for the future of Māori health and Crown-Māori relationships but the Government is not engaging with Māori, as our story on page 10 highlights.

In this issue we also look at how the libertarian right seeks to influence the global political discussion, including here in Aotearoa New Zealand in our article on the Atlas Network.

As a union we have a tradition of supporting progressive social causes. In line with this the Kōrero section brings together opinion pieces on a range of topical issues.

You may not agree with all the perspectives but it’s a chance to hear challenging views from members and other informed commentators. The PSA bi-annual Congress at Te Papa in Wellington in September will be an important chance for us to korero as a union in what will be a tumultuous year for the PSA.

I know it’s an anxious time for many but I can assure you everyone is working hard to defend every job, ensure fairness and transparency in any change process, and advocate that any change is consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

We are ready for the challenges of 2024 as the article on planning for our new campaign supporting public services on page 14 shows.

Nāku iti noa, nā
Benedict Ferguson (He/Him)
President Te Pūkenga Here
Tikanga Mahi | PSA

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The two-day Congress is the highest decision-making body of the union, with delegates chosen by each sector, Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina, and networks to represent members from across the motu.

Congress this year will elect a new President to replace Benedict Ferguson who has now served the maximum two terms. Other important business includes considering remits about union policy and the way we organise to best represent members within the governance structures of the union.

Congress is also an important opportunity for delegates from across the union to shape our strategy to deliver better working lives for members and excellent, responsive and sustainable public and community services.

Following the election of the three-party coalition government late last year there is now an agenda to cut jobs across the public sector, undermine partnership with Māori in the creation and delivery of public services, and withdraw from critical infrastructure support for local government. This has caused a high level of uncertainty and anxiety among PSA members, who have, through their union, determined to resist this agenda and develop a positive, future-focused vision for decent work and quality public services Aotearoa needs to thrive.

Members are also concerned about implicit and explicit statements in the coalition agreements between the governing parties that suggest a move away from universalism and an increasing role for private delivery of essential public services. These moves will lead to a loss of democratic oversight and an emphasis on profit taking over quality services. Accessibility and putting profit before people comes at a cost that is not just financial. The Congress will discuss and debate what it means for all of us to put people and planet before profit.

So far this year PSA members have been very engaged in using their expertise as workers with an intimate knowledge of how effective public services are best delivered to critique Government plans to call out the impact of shrinking the workforce and cutting critical activity. This includes challenging the simplistic separation of backroom (in reality the engine room) and frontline workers.

Further development of this agenda, alongside envisioning a better future to share with New Zealanders, will be central themes of the Congress.

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Long-serving delegate Lucy Gray honoured

The PSA’s long-serving Otago University delegate Lucy Gray, who retired from the role in 2023, has been honoured with a Delegate Achievement Award.

The award, which Lucy received on International Women’s Day, recognises delegates who demonstrate outstanding leadership, and who go above and beyond the expected duties of a delegate.

Lucy joined the PSA in 2000 after starting at Otago University in 1998, and served as a delegate from 2004 to 2023. For much of that time she was Convenor of the delegate group.

Lucy’s nomination for the award by her fellow delegates said that Lucy has been an empathetic and
enthusiastic support for members, and an amazing mentor and agent for positive change among the delegate group.

“She has been the reason why people join the PSA and the University of Otago PSA Delegate team,” the nomination said.

As a delegate, Lucy has worked hard to promote the PSA and pay equity, and served as a member of the Tertiary Sector Committee for many years as convenor. Lucy has also found time to be an active member of the Women’s and Eco networks.

“Lucy's departure from the University of Otago Delegate Group will leave a huge hole in our team and her aroha, bigheartedness, enormous wisdom and EQ will be deeply missed”, her nomination said.

Fuel tax increase will hit care and support workers hard

Care and support workers who use their own car to visit clients are calling for action on their pay equity claim before the rise in fuel excise tax hits their pay packets.

"The Government promised a laser focus on cost of living but increasing fuel excise tax by 22 cents/litre, coupled with the $50 rise in car registration fees, will hit care and support workers hard unless their pay rises," says PSA Assistant Secretary Melissa Woolley.

"Every day care and support workers clock up many miles in their own cars to carry out their essential work providing mental health, disability, and health support, as well as caring and supporting people in our society like the elderly and people with disabilities to live their lives to their full capacity – something we all need to care about for either ourselves or friends and whānau.

"While the taxes are not rising until 2027, care and support workers are already doing it tough and are falling behind with the failure to agree an updated pay equity settlement.

"In addition, the travel cost allowance paid by providers has not kept pace with the rising cost of driving.

"The pay and conditions for workers supporting people in our community need to reflect the rising cost of living. We urge the Government action the outstanding pay equity claim," Melissa says.

Most care and support workers are women, and Government policies are having a disproportionate impact on women, Melissa says.

Peter Hughes a strong advocate for strong public services

Recently retired Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes was a strong advocate for a strong public service that delivers results for New Zealanders and strengthens democracy, National Secretary Kerry
Davies says.

Mr Hughes retired from his role on 29 February 2024 after a public service career spanning 43 years.
Mr Hughes started as a workplace leader when he was elected as a PSA delegate in the Department of
Social Welfare’s Timaru office in the early 1980s. He went on to lead the department from 2001 to 2011. He was also Secretary of Education from 2013 to 2016, before becoming the Public Service Commissioner.

Kerry says that Mr Hughes was a strong advocate for the spirit of service, which people working in public services bring to their jobs.

"He understands the crucial role of public services in providing the foundations the country needs to
tackle issues beyond what could be delivered by solely relying on private enterprise. The wellbeing
of individuals, businesses and the country relies on the support of a strong well-resourced public service," Kerry says.

Mr Hughes has promoted strong and independent public services that ensured Ministers received high-quality advice that can be trusted. "Under the Public Service Act 2020, Mr Hughes took government agencies from a narrow focus on their own patches to working together to achieve better outcomes for New Zealanders and to foster a stronger democracy," Kerry says.

Public service members having their say on workplace changes

PSA delegates and members rallied quickly at the start of the year to ensure the voice of members was heard in response to the Government’s mini budget in December 2023.

The PSA is strongly opposed to any cuts to public services or to the jobs of those who support and
deliver these for New Zealanders.

In developing proposals to meet targets set in the mini budget, chief executives were required by the government to engage with employees, the PSA and other unions. This requirement to engage was the result of the PSA advocating with the Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis and negotiating with
Te Kawa Maataho, the Public Service Commission.

Given that those who do the work are in the best position to understand where systems and processes can be improved, the PSA organised meetings and surveys within workplaces to give members an opportunity to have their say about how changes can be made without job losses.

Delegates then prepared submissions to public service chief executives about change that is consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and does not result in job losses.

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Dr Reti has said he is open to meeting with National Secretary Kerry Davies, Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho and Health Organiser Sue McCullough to discuss issues relating to improving Māori health outcomes.

We will take up this offer but will continue to advocate for him to meet directly with PSA health workers.

The invitation to the meeting with workers was extended by Janice Panoho after the government rushed legislation abolishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority, through the House under urgency in less than 24 hours at the end of February.

As a union representing 30,000 workers in the health sector and 10,000 members who identify as Māori, the PSA is acutely interested in the government’s plan to improve the health of Māori.

Unnecessary haste

The unprecedented use of urgency to silence a judicial process forestalled a Waitangi Tribunal hearing that would have given Māori advocates Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka an opportunity to voice their concerns on behalf of Iwi Māori. It also meant there were no opportunity for public consultation through the select committee process.

“Rushing the legislation through the House meant Māori health workers, who are experts on how to address health inequity, were shut out of this discussion. Māori and our members want to understand the rationale behind the changes and how it will improve the inequities that exist for Māori and their communities, Janice Panoho says.

Why Te Aka Whai Ora was needed

Te Aka Whai Ora was set up to allow Māori to deliver health services to Māori, to give better outcomes for Māori and to meet a Te Tiriti obligation to ensure Māori are equal partners with the Crown. Its work included addressing a raft of inequities that have devastating consequences on Māori. Māori currently have less access to healthcare:

• Māori life expectancy is on average more than seven years lower than non-Māori life expectancy.

• Māori are 20% more likely to develop cancer than non-Māori and nearly twice as likely to die from cancer.

• Māori face more barriers accessing a GP and other health services than non-Māori.

Lady Tureiti said plans for the Māori Health Authority have been underway since 2005.

“We finally get there and just in one fell swoop – this government wants to get rid of it,” she says. “As much as people say that we are all one people and we all deserve the same – Māori do not get the same,” she says.

“We want good health. We want to contribute well to our country and our communities but in order to do that, we want to do that for ourselves. We don’t want the Government telling us what’s right for us.”

Our concerns over the abolition of Te Aka Whai Ora

The workers in Te Aka Whai Ora, and the work they were responsible for, have been transferred back into Te Whatu Ora, Health New Zealand. Te Aka Whai Ora’s strength and contribution to Māori health came from its independence and dedicated focus that brought together Māori health expertise. Both of those strengths have been lost by shifting responsibility Māori health back into Te Whatu Ora.

PSA Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho.

Dr Reti’s stated aim is to move resources closer to hapu and iwi. However, analysis of the legislation by the PSA policy team is that the legislation does the opposite. It centralises decision making for Māori health and removes decision making from iwi and hapu.

“This Government promised evidence-based decisions, but like its decision to row back smoking reforms, which also impact Māori, it would rather embrace ideology than good public health policy,” Janice says.

Wider implications

As well as the negative impacts on addressing Māori health, the abolition of Te Aka Whai Ora is an insult to te Tiriti o Waitangi that does not bode well for Crown-Māori relations, Janice says.

“The debate about Te Aka Whai Ora goes to the heart of the wider debate about the relationship between Māori and the Crown and yet particularly with the loss of the Waitangi Tribunal hearing, Māori, who will be the most impacted, have not even been afforded a conversation,” Janice says.

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Marlene was a veteran PSA delegate of 23 years, a convenor of the social services sector committee; an activist at Child, Youth and Family; and a hardworking member of Te Komiti o Te Rūnanga o Ngā Toa Āwhina.

Today this award not only honours Marlene’s contribution to the union but also provides an opportunity to recognise and celebrate the success of Māori PSA delegates who provide outstanding service to Māori.

Those who receive this award will have shown outstanding leadership, above and beyond the duties expected of their role.

For example:

Rangatiratanga – empowering Māori leadership.

Whanaungatanga – developing workplaces that meet the needs of Māori – both as individuals and
collectively – providing a specifically Māori voice in high-engagement processes.

Kaitiakitanga – leading work that secures specific working conditions and cultural identity for Māori in the workplace.

Manaakitanga – leading work that promotes health and wellbeing for Māori in the workplace.

Wairuatanga – promoting the rights of Māori to be Māori in the workplace.

Whakahiato Umanga – promoting Māori career development.

Whakamana – growing Māori membership within the workplace.

Kotahitanga – building solidarity and unity among Māori members and between Māori and the wider PSA membership.

It is important to note when filling out the nomination form that the criteria required is clearly stated in your nomination form. Any events or actions your nominee has taken part in should be reasonably current, but in some cases historical recognition will apply. A delegate may receive the award more than once.

Submit your nomination online

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The vital work of members during the pandemic was highlighted in the PSA’s evidence to the Royal
Commission into the Covid-19 response.

The extraordinary work of PSA members saved lives, ensured vital services continued, and was essential
to New Zealand’s response, which protected health, society and the economy.

Capacity of community and public services vital

The pandemic response would not have been successful without the capacity of our public and
community services. Building on this expertise and experience will be vital in dealing with other emergencies, such as the increasing number of severe weather events.

During the pandemic, some services, such as testing and vaccine delivery, had to scale up in an unprecedented way. Testing and vaccinating were supported behind the scenes by workers developing new systems, engaging with the public, managing logistics and supply chains, running training, and working on modelling, health and safety, and policy development.

Some of our members had to quickly change processes. The pandemic response would not have been possible without Ministry of Social Development workers, as one example, quickly pushing through new policies to ensure New Zealanders received financial assistance during lockdowns.

Other members ensured that essential services continued, from health care and home support, to rubbish collection.

Staying in touch with communities

Our evidence highlighted the importance of functions written off by the Government as “back office”

were essential to the COVID response, such as communications. The Unite Against COVID-19 campaign, which relied on communications capacity across public services, was a key plank in the response.

Our evidence noted that while the pandemic response, including communications, was strong, it was unequal. Staff within agencies with expertise in communicating with different population groups, such as Māori, Pacific Peoples and Disabled people should have been listened to more. The COVID-19 response highlighted the importance of the public service having the ability to engage and communicate with all communities in New Zealand.

Government departments such as Te Puni Kōkiri and the population-based agencies, including the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the Ministry for Women and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples have close relationships with communities. Their expertise building community engagement with public services is essential for effective emergency responses. As smaller agencies, their ability to deliver will be disproportionally impaired by public service cuts.

It is a backward step that Te Aka Whai Ora, set up to address health inequities, has already been
disestablished. Te Aka Whai Ora and a national health service (Te Whatu Ora) could have overcome
some of the hurdles experienced operating across multiple DHB decision making processes, had they
been in existence at the time of the pandemic.

Learning from experience

The pandemic response was built on previous experience dealing with events such as the Canterbury
and Kaikoura earthquakes and its lessons will inform future emergency responses. The capability that underpinned the pandemic response needs to be invested in, not cut, at a time of increased likelihood of further pandemics and the growing need to respond to adverse weather events.

New Zealand’s increased exposure to storms, high winds and floods is illustrated by the statistics for declared state of emergencies over the past two decades. In 2003, and again in 2013, there was one declared state of emergency. In 2023 there were 18.

The value of well-funded public and community services

Not only are the effects of climate change going to get worse, New Zealand is prone to natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunami. Increased travel, urbanisation, and climate change make global pandemics more likely. Our evidence highlighted the value of well-resourced public and community services to help our nation respond effectively to these massively disruptive events.

The PSA's evidence to the Royal Commission was given on 28 February 2024 by Kerry Davies, National Secretary, Janice Panoho, Kaihautū, and Tracy Klenner, who had taken a lead in organising our response.

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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.

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PSA members, who are bargaining for a new Collective Agreement, have been denied access to health
insurance NIWA has given its non-union staff as a wellbeing initiative.

The PSA has been in bargaining with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) since May 2023. NIWA members want to bargain a fair pay increase annually and for NIWA to start addressing the growing gender pay gap, which is currently 13.5%.

Assistant Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons says NIWA’s stance on health insurance discriminates against
union members and subjects them to unnecessary pressure and stress.

"NIWA said in September that the health insurance was a well-being policy offered to all permanent staff. However, when union members accepted the offer, NIWA refused to give it to them in an attempt to undermine the PSA’s bargaining position," Fleur says.

"It’s deeply disappointing that NIWA would try and use staff well-being as some sort of bargaining chip," Fleur says.

"NIWA’s stance on a policy supposed to promote wellbeing has caused a great deal of anxiety for our
members. We know of members who have delayed surgery or other medical treatment hoping the issue
of the medical insurance would be resolved," Fleur says.

As well as the personal grievance claims, the PSA has taken legal action against NIWA over the issue.
The case, which has been filed in the Employment Relations Authority, is in mediation.

PSA members picketed outside NIWA’s worksites at Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch for an hour on Thursday 29 February and on Wednesday 6 March.

Fleur paid tribute to the guidance and perseverance of the NIWA delegates on the PSA bargaining
team.

“Their work has been outstanding, particularly during such an acrimonious bargaining. The whole bargaining team have been committed to achieving the best possible settlement for members and addressing the inequalities present in NIWA’s pay system,” Fleur says.

At the time of Te Mahinga Ora going to press, bargaining with NIWA was ongoing.

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One of the PSA’s values is Social Justice – Papori Ture Tika, which means we take a stand for decent
treatment and justice, we embrace diversity and we challenge inequality.

The foundation stone for the PSA’s social justice advocacy is our work protecting the civil and political rights of members. Before the 1930s, public servants' civil and political rights were strongly curtailed and they had no right to take any kind of political action without losing their jobs. In the 1930s, the PSA won important protections for members' rights to civil and political expression.

Since then, we have been vigilant about ensuring public servants' rights. In 2004, we protected our members' right to join the hikoi against the Labour Government’s Foreshore and Seabed Bill.

In recent months, PSA members have attended marches around the country calling for a ceasefire in Palestine, and opposing attempts to roll back the significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Opposing apartheid

Social issues by their nature can be contentious. A consensus can take a long time to emerge. As Dr Martin Luther King observed, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”.

While a consensus against the 1981 Springbok Tour has developed over the years, in 1981 the country was strongly divided on the issue. While it may not have pleased all members at the time, the PSA had a long history of supporting the anti-apartheid movement. The executive voted to oppose the 1960 All Black tour of South Africa. Frank Winter (Ngāi Tahu) – a delegate, executive member and eventually deputy general secretary – was a leading member of the anti-apartheid movement. In 1981, many members took PSA banners to marches up and down the country opposing apartheid and the Springbok Tour.

Social justice doesn't stop at the workplace door

As well as advocating for better pay and conditions for members, we also work to ensure people are treated equally and with dignity, and their basic rights such as the right to stay home when sick are protected. The union’s work doesn’t stop at the workplace door. Our workplace is part of the world, and inequality in the world effects the workplace. The fight for pay equity cannot be divorced from ensuring equality in society.

In the 1980s, the PSA supported Homosexual Law Reform, arguing that we were unable to properly support gay members in their workplace if parts of their life were criminalised. We were part of a larger
movement advocating to end a huge injustice, and to ensure that we could properly represent members.

As with any social issue, not everyone agreed with the PSA’s position on Homosexual Law Reform. One
member unsuccessfully stood for President arguing that the PSA should not take a position on reform.

Deciding our stance on issues

The PSA’s position on important issues is decided by the Executive Board, which has representatives from each sector and Te Rūnanga, in consultation with members and PSA structures including sector
committees and networks. The PSA position is also guided by international union information and
policy.

The Board is chosen by sector committees, which are chosen by delegates. So being active within the
union gives you more power to shape union positions.

Members through the PSA structure can also advocate for our union to take a stand. The Health Sector
committee recently decided to speak out in support of health workers in Gaza, working in horrific conditions in fear of their lives. This stance was approved by the National Secretaries.

The PSA can also develop its position working with other unions affiliated with the Council of Trade Unions (CTU). The Board represented the PSA at the CTU conference last year, which developed a Resolution on the Palestine/Israel conflict. The resolution called an immediate and permanent ceasefire and “condemns all acts of violence against civilians, including the attack by Hamas on 7th October 2023, and condemns Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza, which has created a major humanitarian catastrophe.”

A first step in deciding where the PSA stands on issues is to have a discussion among ourselves.
To stimulate some debate in the following pages, you’ll find some thought-provoking articles making
the case for extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds and opposing changes to community
sports funding that could disadvantage transgender sports people.

The articles that follow in the Kōrero section are opinion pieces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the PSA.

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Playing community sport is a birthright for New Zealanders. We may never wear the silver fern but we can still compete and socialise, and dream.

However, many transgender sports people are at risk of losing the experience of community sport because of funding changes for community sport signalled by the Government.

The issue

The coalition Government’s policy is that “publicly funded sporting bodies support fair competition that is not compromised by rules relating to gender.” It's part of New Zealand First's coalition deal with National.

To date, policy hasn’t been introduced. However New Zealand First's sport and recreation spokesperson Andy Foster has said that any sporting code which "doesn't provide for a safe and fair competition for women" is "potentially at risk" of losing government funding.

While these statements sound reasonable – who doesn’t want safe and fair competition? – they are dog whistling to those who think that having a trans woman compete with other women is inherently unfair.

In practical terms this policy would cut people out of playing sport because trans women will be forced to choose: play in a men's team or not play at all.

Sport New Zealand's guidance

Such a policy would also put sporting bodies in the impossible position of risking losing their funding and threatening the viability of their sport for everyone – if they protect trans people and their right to play community sport in a team that aligns with their gender.

Sport New Zealand’s 2022 guidance on trans inclusion in sport includes an overarching principle stating that “every New Zealander has the right to participate in Sport and to be treated with respect, empathy and positive regard. Transgender people can take part in sports in the gender they identify with.”

The guidance is based on extensive consultation, over three rounds, to ensure it reflects best practice and provides the best outcomes for people who play sport.

Standing up for trans rights

The proposed policy is not about safety in sport. It is among other thinly-veiled attacks on the rainbow community the Government is making, such as draft reforms to gender and sexuality curricula in schools.

As the union for public services, the Public Service Association (PSA) has an interest in ensuring public funding is used to create accessible community services for all. That includes community sport, and it should include everyone, whether trans or not.

Regardless of the government of the day, as the network for rainbow PSA members, OUT@PSA will stand up against attacks on trans people, and stand up for the rights of trans people to participate fully in their communities.

Authored by
• Maddi Rowe (they/them), a PSA Campaigns and Communications Advisor.
• Andrew McCauley (he/him), a PSA Policy Advisor.

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Local Government Minister Simeon Brown said that “ratepayers and residents expect their local councils to be sticking to core business of efficiently and effectively delivering local infrastructure and services,” and called the process to lower the voting age a “costly distraction”.

Stifling democracy

In axing the Bill, the Government made its position clear – cost-cutting is more important than democracy. Over 730 submissions were made on the Bill through the Make It 16 website, with countless more through other channels, and none will be heard.

The decision to cull the Bill is a devastating blow to the years of work that youth organisation – Make It 16 – has put in to lower the voting age.

“The Government’s decision not to continue with the Bill to lower the voting age for local elections is a terrible decision for young people and democracy,” said Make It 16 codirector Sage Green in a statement following the defeat. Green says the Government’s decision to can the Bill begs the question: if democracy is not part of the core business of local government, what is?

Suffrage in Aotearoa

When women in Aotearoa were fighting for suffrage in the late 1800s, they faced the same challenges. The simple thought of women voting was deemed impossible. “Public opinion” maintained that women were not intelligent enough to vote, and politicians worried that women would vote to change the status quo. Despite overwhelming social opposition, women campaigned for the right to vote, and in 1893, New Zealand became the first nation to ever enshrine votes for women. This proved the “impossible” is, in fact, incredibly possible.

The case for Making It 16

At 16, you can drive, consent to medical procedures, move out of home, work full-time and pay income tax, and more. If at 16 you can become a taxpayer, a renter, a student with a loan – it is your right to vote on the issues that affect you. Make It 16 successfully argued this in 2022, when the New Zealand Supreme Court ruled that preventing 16- and 17-year-olds from voting was age discrimination, and a breach of the Bill of Rights Act 1990.

New Zealand prides itself on having a strong democracy, and while this chance at youth suffrage may have been stamped out, the facts speak for themselves – letting young people have their say allows for greater civic engagement, sustainable policies, and, when given the chance, a better future, where democracy thrives.

Despite the setbacks imposed by the government, the campaign for youth suffrage continues.

Authored by Lily Lewis (they/them), PSA Youth member and PSA Public Service Sector
Committee Youth Representative.

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By Sam Williams

Founded in 1981, Atlas is a global network of right-wing ‘think tanks’ that organise and build power so they can shape the systems and structures we live in, to advance their own interests.

According to its website, Atlas links 550 think tanks in more than 100 countries, including ten in New Zealand and Australia.

Its political alignment is spelt out in its vision “of a free, prosperous, and peaceful world where the principles of individual liberty, property rights, limited government, and free markets are secured by the rule of law”. The network links ideological think tanks, whose approach to issues is driven by this libertarian ideology.

Local right-wing think tanks the Taxpayers’ Union and the New Zealand Initiative are both official partners of Atlas. Atlas ideology also closely aligns with our current government, and its rush of regressive and reactionary policies.

Subtle vehicle for influencing public policy

In 1998, Atlas’ then President Alejandro Chafuen and then CEO Leonardo Liggo co-wrote an article in The Economist magazine, which laid out the organisation’s approach. Atlas promotes think tanks as potentially “the most effective, yet subtle, vehicles for influencing the development of public policy and the deliberations of governments.” They can do this by winning “the respect of journalists and government officials” and helping “shift the climate of opinion in favour of market approaches.”

In that vein, Atlas and its members promote policies that suit corporate interests, including public services cuts, denying climate change, slashing corporate regulations, eroding workers’ rights, privatisation, supporting landlords over tenants, and more. All policies that go against our values and knowledge as a union committed to solidarity and justice and the value of public services.

As Guardian columnist George Monbiot points out, these policies will be familiar to people around the world. Policy platforms by conservative leaders in the United Kingdom, Argentina, and the United States have all been influenced by members of the Atlas Network. Monbiot describes how, for example, Atlas member the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) helped create former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’ disastrous economic policies. Yet last year, British media platformed the IEA an average of 14 times a day.

Organising in the open

Critics of the Atlas Network often characterise it as a conspiracy. But this framing isn’t helpful, and can make it easier for people to dismiss any critique of the Atlas Network. It’s not a shadowy cabal – Atlas and its associates are open about their aims and influences. Its website and annual report show the network has a deliberate, organised approach to building and maintaining influence.

As a registered charity, the Atlas Network is funded by foundations, individuals and corporates. In 2022 it had revenues of US$20.2 million (NZ$32.8 million). It awarded US$8.8 million (NZ$14.3 million) in grants globally for projects promoting “individual liberty”. About US$75,800 (NZ$123,000) was distributed in Australia and New Zealand.

As well as grants, according to its website, Atlas Network provides seminars, workshops, and mentoring, to build the capability of its member organisation and promote a sense of community among them.

What we gain from understanding Atlas

A useful way of looking at the Atlas Network is as a guide to how right-wing interests build and maintain their influence and power.

If we understand this, we understand that the current status quo is not the natural order of the world. It’s not set in stone. It is a deliberately set narrative, such as the coalition government’s narrative of a “fragile economy”, which is used to justify cuts to public and community services.

"A useful way of looking at the Atlas Network is as a guide to how right-wing interests build and maintain their influence and power.”

The Atlas Network is a structure through which it can be used to allocate resources, spread ideas, and aggregate power. This understanding helps us as we organise and build power and influence ourselves. We may not have the vast wealth that backs corporate interests, but we have people power.

We can still win hearts and minds and inspire people to mobilise for a better future. As CTU policy director Craig Renney says in his Last Word column, “delivering a better future is a choice”. When we see the machinations of the Atlas Network, we can choose to resist them and build something better instead.

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Being part of a union means being part of a collective. Even in the face of a political
environment that’s hostile to public services, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and decent rights for
workers, there are things we can do together for a fairer future. We are not powerless or alone.

In the words of writer Nadine Anne Hura (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) “hope is shaped like a shovel and will give you blisters”.

Here are some ideas for picking up a shovel:

1. Go to your local union meeting, coffee catchup, or event. Union spaces are a safe place to bring your political opinions, connect with others, and share what’s going on. Get in touch with your delegate to ask what’s coming up.

2. Come to rallies, protests, or community events in your area. There are events happening regularly for Fairer Tax, Pay Equity, Climate Change, Palestine, for Toitū Te Tiriti, and many other kaupapa. Remember you have a right to attend political actions as community and public servants.

3. Look into local groups in your community who are already working on issues you care about. Find out about the next Radical Sewing Circle meeting, river cleanup, or street appeal.

4. Steer your union to take action when we need to. Our union is our members. Reach out via a local delegate or organiser, or our social media channels and phone line and talk to us about what you’re noticing in your community and your workplace.

5. Harness your specialist skill toward the change you want to see. All of us have something different to offer. Whether you’re trained in research and analysis, healthcare and wellbeing, or finance – channel what you have into community action.

6. Join a PSA Network and connect with groups of union members organising for change. Our union has the Eco Network for climate and environmental issues, the Deaf and Disability Network, Out@PSA for rainbow whānau, the Pasefika Network, Youth Network, Social Workers Action Network, Women’s Network, and ALMA our network for diverse ethnic communities.

7. Organise where you are. Join up with people in the communities you’re part of – whether it’s your faith group, gardening workshop, walking group, surf, book, or sports club, or dungeons and dragons crew – to take along to events, write letters to politicians, and share what’s working.

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The Productivity Commission was an Independent Crown Entity with a legislated purpose to advise government on improving productivity “… in a way that is directed to supporting the overall wellbeing of New Zealanders”.

Sadly, such advice was such a threat to the coalition Government that we were disestablished by legislation passed under urgency. The urgency is doubly perplexing given we were a purely advisory body with no decision-making or policy implementation powers.

Unfortunately the Commission was seen as a ‘nice-to-have’ archetypical back-office service not meeting front-office demands. And so we were sitting ducks. But what threat did we really pose? If the government genuinely desires evidence-based policy, we would not have been a target.

The myth of the "back-office"

It remains a mystery to many how the division between back office and front office is drawn. The back-office/front-office delineation is a purely arbitrary distinction, devoid of any understanding as to how evidence-based policy is designed, implemented and delivered.

Delivery of quality services requires good policy work. Implementing a social investment lens for some spending requires extracting data from a range of sources and making informed inferences from it. The so-called benefit-cost assessments, seemingly indispensable to business cases, require expertise in costings, appraisals and risk analysis.

The demise of the Productivity Commission reflects New Zealand’s lack of appetite for expert data analysis, accompanied by well-researched evidence-based policy recommendations. Instead we have an unhealthy (and unrealistic) demand for quick-fix solutions delivering immediate results.

Meeting 21st century challenges

The challenges we face this century call for more strategic, informed, and systemic cross-silo responses. Papatūānuku is overheating. There are lasting (but not well understood) impacts from a global pandemic, while disadvantage is being embedded across generations. Geo-political tensions are rife, and people are feeling increasingly disconnected from the centres of economic power and decision-making. Social cohesion and businesses’ licence to operate – for so long taken for granted – are now visibly threadbare.

Recognising and responding to these influences require shifts in thinking. Arbitrarily defined back and front office silos do not enable the critical knowledge, expertise and integration across all office functions that are required.

Now, more than ever, we need to talk truth to power and provide the free and frank advice that has been the hallmark of the public service. Maintaining the confidence of ministers is not the primary role for the public service. Our primary duty is to serve the individuals, whānau, and communities of Aotearoa today and tomorrow.

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Iwi Māori from across the motu came together at three hui in January and February at Tūrangawaewae Marae, Rātana Pā, and Waitangi to organise a united response to the racist rhetoric and policies relating to Māori that the Government had signalled early in their tenure.

These policies include removing te reo Māori names across public services ministries, reducing the use of te reo Māori in the public service, disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora The Maori Health Authority and redefining the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – all without any discussion with Māori.

First hui: Te Hui ā Motu

On Saturday 20 January, Te Kīngi Māori, Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, held te Hui ā Motu (national hui) to unify ngā iwi Māori, and ensure all voices were heard when holding the new coalition government to account.

The theme of Hui ā Motu was: Taakiri Tuu Te Kotahitanga, Taakiri Tuu Te Mana Motuhake – which means unity together as we strive for self-determination.

About 3000 people were expected to attend but more than 10,000 turned up to Tūrangawaewae Marae in Ngāruawāhia on the banks of the Waikato River. The tangata whenua (hosts) Waikato-Tainui were asked to head to the nearby river, to make space for the manuhiri (guests). No one objected to standing in the sweltering heat outside of crowded marquees.

Among the thousands who attended the hui were iwi representatives and leaders, hapū members, parliamentarians, PSA members, Council of Trade Union (CTU) leaders and tāngata Tiriti.

There was a sense of mana motuhake (empowerment) and unity amongst leaders and attendees. Workshops were held across the day that allowed people to engage on the topics that mattered to them the most, including topics on Te Tiriti and the environment, te reo me te tikanga Māori, rangatahi Māori (young Māori), and more. The atmosphere was futurefocused, uplifting, and unifying.

Second hui: Rātana

In the following week Kīngi Tūheitia travelled to Rātana Pā to present the conclusions of te Hui ā Motu to the nation at the annual Rātana hui.

The hui at Rātana is held around the birthday of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, the movement’s founder, on 25 January and attracts politicians to hear from, and speak to Māori leaders.

In speech after speech, the Government was taken to task by Māori leaders, warning the coalition of “meddling” with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Responding to speakers from Rātana, Cabinet Minister Shane Jones issued a wero (challenge) to take the debate about Te Tiriti to Waitangi.

Māori from across the country took up Jones’ wero travelled to Waitangi in February in droves to debate the coalition’s divisive policies affecting Māori – including the debate around the role of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Third hui: Waitangi Day

Waitangi Day, the most important day of the year for our nation, saw a massive display of unity of Māori o te motu, united in the true spirit of kotahitanga (solidarity). More than 40,000 Māori and tāngata Tiriti came from all over Aotearoa to stand together as one to send a message of mana motuhake (Māori self-determination) to the coalition Government and its divisive anti-Māori policies.

PSA delegation at Rātana Pā.

On the Sunday afternoon before Waitangi Day, two of Māoridom’s leading voices, Kīngi Tūheitia and Rātana Tumuaki (President) Manuao Te Kohamutunga Tamou, arrived with iwi leaders from across the motu, in a true showing of kotahitanga. Responding to the tono (invitation) from Ngāpuhi rangatira, the Kīngitanga led hundreds onto the grounds, carrying with them the mauri (spirit) from te Hui ā Motu.

A slogan much in evidence at Waitangi was “Toitū He Whakaputanga, Toitū Te Tiriti. The Declaration of Independence endures, The Treaty of Waitangi endures”. (He Whakaputanga – The Declaration of Independence, was signed by Māori in 1835 and ratified by King William IV in 1836, four years before Te Tiriti was signed. He Whakaputanga recognised the sovereignty of Māori and set the foundation for some but not all Māori signing the Māori version of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840. Both documents are entwined and are recognised as sacred by Māori).

The PSA's presence at the hui

PSA Te Kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho, along with PSA staff, members and union affiliates, attended all three hui to stand together with iwi, hapū and whanau demanding genuine partnership and collaboration between Māori and the Government.

The actions of this Government have reignited Māori to unite at all three hui in protest, culminating at Waitangi, challenging the coalition to truly honour the Crown’s commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

In the words of Kiingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero Te VII, “The best protest we can do is being Māori. Be who we are, live by our values, speak our reo, care for our mokopuna. Just be Māori, all day, every day.”

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Former PSA Regional Secretary and Organiser Alan Millar, who was a committed and effective trade unionist in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, has died after a long illness.

Alan was the Central Districts Regional Secretary of the PSA and a well-known identity in Palmerston North, getting about in a flowing cape and deerstalker hat.

Working as a trainee psychiatric nurse in the Waikato, Alan joined the PSA in 1959 and served as a delegate. He transferred to Porirua Hospital, graduated as a registered nurse and became an Executive Committee member.

A significant campaign Alan organized was for additional leave and allowances to recognize issues for workers because the New Plymouth Power Station ran on both oil and gas. The Government’s case that there was no difference between using oil and gas literally blew apart when a gas-burning boiler exploded, luckily without injuring anyone. The State Services Commission quickly negotiated an allowance and extra leave.

During the 1990s Alan led a project to computerize the union’s records; he supported the establishment of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions; and he channeled resources into delegate education. He retired from the PSA in the mid-1990s for health reasons.

The Millar clan survives him including his wife Judy, sons Sandy and Ben, daughter Fiona and moko Alex. Alan was a larger than life character and an old style unionist who was articulate, courageous, steadfast and loyal to the working class movement.

With thanks to John Shennan.

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Earlier this month, 65 PSA Youth members gathered in Christchurch for three days of learning, says Hannah Shelton-Agar PSA Organiser and PSA Youth member.

The event was a chance for members to korero on politics, unionism, our environment, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and more, featured ten guest speakers and workshop facilitators.

This year’s theme was unapologetically Taylor Swift. It was called Speak Now, a fitting tagline for a hui empowering young unionists to speak up and make change in the current political and environmental climate.

“We found that many titles from Taylor Swift’s discography leant themselves well to union topics such as: I think I've seen this film before (and I didn't like the ending) a session on the topic of Unions and National - Past and Future led by our very own policy advisor Grace Millar: and The Story of Us, a session on the future of the PSA with National secretaries Kerry Davies and Duane Leo,” Hannah says.

The hui gave members a chance to engage on topics with their peers, and to ask questions of wahine like Tamatha Paul (Green Party Wellington Central MP) and Te Kotuku Irwin-Stainton (Te Tiriti educator).

It was also the Youth Network’s bi-annual election which saw Leya Kurian and Rachael Stiekema elected as National Co-Convenors.

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“This film is not a recreation of the police raids against the people of Tūhoe. It is a response.”

These words appear early on screen in Tearepa Kahi’s Muru – a statement of intent for a film that takes a bold, creative approach to realising history on screen. Drawing a line from the 1916 raid to arrest the prophet Rua Kēnana to the 2007 Urewera ‘anti-terror’ raid, the film distils 100 years of injustice against Ngāi Tūhoe into an experience that entertains while honouring its subject.

The film follows Police Sergeant ‘Taffy’ Tāwharau (Cliff Curtis), at first going about his duties in the community of Rūātoki.

These early scenes draw a detailed portrait of Taffy, his community, and how he sees his job fitting into that community. The stakes escalate dramatically as the Crown launches an armed raid on Rūātoki, terrorising the community and dividing Taffy’s loyalties.

It’s intense and often harrowing, ratcheting up the tension while touching on painful events and hope for the future to form an unequivocal and defiant response to the Crown’s actions. Technical aspects are accomplished across the board. So is the acting, including from Curtis and Tāme Iti as himself.

The film does not stick to strict historical reenactment, evoking parts of the 1916 and 2007 raids, other events in Tūhoe’s history, and a healthy dose of fictionalisation. This creative decision came at the request of Tūhoe the filmmakers consulted with, and it allows Muru to speak to wider truths about the effects of oppression on a community over generations.

It also allows Muru to explore different genres, as it shifts between intimate drama, tense thriller, and full-blown action movie. The overall effect overrides some awkward shifts in tone. Genre can be a powerful and creative way of engaging audiences and expressing ideas, and Muru leans into that in ways filmmakers around the world could learn from.

Muru offers an impassioned, riveting, and unique addition to Aotearoa’s film legacy. You can watch it on ThreeNow. Bonus feature: For a factual account of the 2007 raid, the excellent documentary Operation 8 is available for free on YouTube and the underrated streaming service Beamafilm, which you can access through your local library.

Muru was reviewed by Sam Williams, a PSA Communications and Campaigns Advisor and film enjoyer.

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Recently, the economic news hasn’t seemed great. Unemployment forecast to rise, interest rates climbing, the cost-of-living ballooning. Now is the time for sensible economic policy that focuses on the big, longterm issues – and how we can build a better future.

The Prime Minister says New Zealand is “fragile”. The Government couches its tax and public service cuts package as essential to tackling the country’s economic malaise. The solutions proposed – axing the public service’s numbers, for example – ignores many of the problems we have.

The "debt crisis"

The Infrastructure Commission tells us we have a $210bn infrastructure gap – that’s schools, hospitals, and other essential infrastructure that should exist and doesn’t. We have a chronic productivity problem, driven by having built a low-wage and low-skill economy.

All these things should be telling us that we need to be investing more and not less. But we can’t afford it, right? Aren’t we borrowing loads? According to the International Monetary Fund in 2023, New Zealand had a lower government debt burden (24.5% of GDP) than Australia (29%), the US (97%) the UK, (99%), or Japan (158%).

The average debt of advanced economies globally is 83%. There is no debt crisis in New Zealand.

A crisis of economic imagination

What we do have is a crisis of economic imagination. We should be focusing on building a better future. That means making the essential public investments that we have been putting off for too long.

It means creating an enabling state, which catalyses economic growth and ensures that no one is left behind. It means ensuring the transition to an economic future that can deal with climate change is fair, and that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

If the economy is genuinely fragile, then cutting the wages of minimum wage workers in real terms is unlikely to make them more resilient. Kāinga Ora has no funding for new housing after 2025, but we will be finding around $3bn to give to landlords. We won’t build on our climate change goals by cutting half a billion dollars from science funding.

Investing in a better future

We can choose to do something different – helpfully, that ‘different’ turns out to be great long-term economic policy. If we are to truly tackle our long-term problems, it means we need a long-term plan to invest in skills, in our communities, and our workforce.

It’s also essential that we invest in a public service that can deliver that investment well, and fully recognising the value that our public services bring both to the economy and to the rest of New Zealand.

It will mean building our capacity to deliver over the long run. It will mean making sure that not only is New Zealand the best country in the world to be in business, but also the best country in the world to be a worker.

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