Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Earth Sciences – New energy calculator helps glasshouse growers cut fuel risk and future‑proof food production

Source: Earth Sciences New Zealand

As New Zealand grapples with rising energy costs and uncertain supply chains, questions about our fuel security and food security are becoming tightly knotted together.

Our country relies year-round on our covered crop growers to produce affordable quality fresh produce. This includes 95% of our tomatoes, capsicums and cucumbers. Many of them operate glasshouses that sweep across from South Auckland to Bay of Plenty. Most of them rely on natural gas, waste oil or coal heating to maintain growing temperatures.

“Energy costs are currently about 40% of a grower’s overhead, heating is rapidly becoming one of the sector’s largest and most volatile operating costs. Keeping the heating on is seriously impacting our growers’ ability to keep operating. While many growers currently have their fuel supply locked in through contracts, the real risk is what happens when those contracts run out, and remaining on gas could become unaffordable,” says Dinah Cohen, General Manager of Covered Cropping NZ.

Dr Anya Seward from Earth Sciences New Zealand says the sector could turn to a more local solution, by rather ironically, looking underground.

“Simply, there is no more efficient way to produce heat than by starting with pre-existing heat. Using the geothermal heat directly in our earth’s crust offers a 24/7, low-emissions heating alternative that is more energy efficient than fossil-fuel burners and electric heating” says Seward.

To help growers search for alternative solutions, Seward and her team from Earth Sciences New Zealand and GeoExchange NZ have launched a new “Geothermal for Glasshouses Calculator” . This free online calculator is designed to help covered crop growers assess whether switching from fossil fuel heating to geothermal heating could be technically and economically viable. Growers have already been testing the tool to explore potential heating demand, fuel displacement, emissions reductions, and indicative cost considerations for their specific need.

Seward says the motivation in creating the tool was because geothermal heat presents a major opportunity for the glasshouse industry to reduce exposure to fuel shocks.

“This tool is about giving growers practical, science‑based insights so they can see what geothermal heating could mean for their business and for the resilience of the wider food system.”

Cohen says the calculator responds directly to questions growers are asking.

“Growers want reliable information about alternatives. Having a tool that’s specifically designed for glasshouse operations and grounded in New Zealand conditions is incredibly valuable. This helps turn geothermal heat from a concept into something growers can genuinely evaluate.”

“Speaking of the concept, it’s important for New Zealand to know that the use of geothermal heat in greenhouses is common overseas, even in places you don’t typically associate with the word ‘geothermal’, like the Netherlands” adds Cohen.

While geothermal energy is often associated with known hotspots like Taupō and Rotorua, the developers of the tool stress that its potential is far broader.

“One of the key messages we want to get across is that geothermal isn’t just for a few regions or industries. Across much of New Zealand, low‑temperature geothermal heat is readily available and suitable for many uses currently met by gas below 100°C, from space and water heating to food processing and concrete curing. Higher-temperature hotspots can also support more demanding industrial processes” says Dr Seward.

“But to make realistic progress, New Zealand needs to invest in nationwide geothermal datasets and more tools, like this calculator, that are catered to other industries. Crucially, we also need ways to de‑risk development for potential end users, such as regionally distributed test bores and pilot projects that can confirm what’s in the ground and what it would take to use it. That kind of early investment is one reason greenhouse geoheat has scaled overseas, including in the Netherlands, where developers have drilled much deeper. We’re seeing encouraging signals in the Geothermal Strategy for New Zealand the government released last month. We have a long way to go, but the opportunity seems worth it.”

The Geothermal for Glasshouses Calculator is available now: https://data.gns.cri.nz/geoheat/

This initiative is supported by the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund and Vegetables NZ and Tomatoes NZ, and in collaboration with Earth Sciences New Zealand and GeoExchange NZ.

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Health – Culture of fear at understaffed, dilapidated Hillmorton Hospital

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

A new survey of 186 nurses and care staff at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital has revealed a disturbing picture of overworked staff too scared to speak out about the state of the facility, NZNO says.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO delegate and Hillmorton nurse Sarah Jane Perkin says understaffing is at the heart of many of the issues raised by the NZNO members in the survey: https://www.nzno.org.nz/Portals/0/Files/2026/NZNO%20Hillmorton%20Survey%20Report%20-%20May%202026.pdf?ver=Kdvu9mYrZ6Aj7ygWPkTreg%3d%3d
“Four out of five – or 80% – of the nurses and care workers surveyed felt unsafe at work because of understaffing during the past month.
“This is evidenced in Te Whatu Ora’s own data for 2025 which shows the Whaikaha forensic ward at Hillmorton was staffed below safe levels 1000 shifts – or 91% of all shifts – and a further eight wards at the mental health hospital were unsafely staffed above or close to almost half of all shifts.
“Other survey findings include nine out of 10 staff – or 89% – said they had recently had to work with broken or faulty equipment.
“Staff described broken heaters, peeling wallpaper, graffiti, worn and stained carpet soaked in urine, infestations of ants, rats and mice, building leaks, broken panels in lounge areas and patient room doors getting jammed.
“Of even more concern is that staff also described cameras not working, security doors that don’t lock or close properly, malfunctioning duress alarms, delayed alarm responses and blind spots where patients climb up walls and fences,” Sarah Jane Perkin says.
“Nurses have a professional duty to immediately raise and escalate concerns about patient safety or compromised care standards. However, just over half – 52% – of the workers surveyed felt unable to raise concerns without fear of blame or retaliation. A further third – 32% – reported sometimes feeling unable to safely raise concerns.
“Sadly nearly nine out of 10 workers – 87% – reported negative impacts on their wellbeing from working at Hillmorton. One third reported experiencing burnout, and a further third reported feeling constant stress and anxiety,” Sarah Jane Perkin says.
The survey results prompted NZNO to write to the Ministry of Health to raise its serious concerns about Hillmorton and associated mental health services which are the subject of a monitoring programme under Section 99 of the Mental Health Act.
Section 99 enables the Director of Mental Health Dr John Crawshaw to inspect any hospital or facility where psychiatric treatment is provided in response to serious events or safety concerns.
NZNO delegate and Hillmorton nurse Gabrielle Nolan says NZNO Hillmorton members are calling for Te Whatu Ora to address the issues raised in the survey.
“We would like to see Te Whatu Ora resource baseline rosters to ensure safe staffing, stop using redeployment to plug roster gaps, establish workforce planning for early career nurses, immediately fix maintenance and equipment issues, and set up an anonymous reporting system for staff concerns,” Gabrielle Nolan says.
Quotes from the survey:
I’ve worked shifts where there are panels missing from walls on the unit, ripped vinyl peeling off the walls due to patient damage, buckets on the floor to collect the water that is leaking from the ceiling. Flickering lights due to electrical issues. Doors not closing properly and having to be slammed shut to secure them. Windows not fixed and constantly remaining open causing temperature issues. Water taps not working in patient rooms. This is our ward constantly. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to be admitted to our ward. The physical environment is anything but healing (RN, Te Whare Manaaki, Hillmorton Hospital).
Working at Hillmorton has an impact on my personal health. I am a more anxious and tearful person than I was before I started. I experienced burnout within months of working there. I went into mental health nursing because I care about people, but the level of care we are able to provide feels substandard. I constantly feel moral and ethical conflict, knowing that the treatment our tangata whai ora receive is often harmful and traumatising (RN, Acute Inpatients, Hillmorton).
Moral injury, for me, shows up when I know what good care looks like but don’t have the resources to provide it. There have been shifts where patients were clearly distressed and needed time, therapeutic engagement, and consistent boundaries, but staffing and skill mix meant my focus had to be on safety and containment rather than care. Instead of time, presence, and de-escalation, medication becomes the default intervention… Knowing that a patient needed more than I could give – and that this may contribute to them returning in crisis – is deeply uncomfortable and stays with me after the shift ends (RN, Te Awakura, Hillmorton Hospital)
When you have such limited time, it is the patients that end up being neglected and missing out. Being able to provide good care to the children I look after is really important to me. Shifts like these I often apologise to my patients for not having enough time for them and spend my shift in a state of chaos and intense guilt. Children shouldn't miss out on quality mental health care because the adults in political power don't care about nurses, patients, and safe staffing (RN, Ngā Kakano, Hillmorton Hospital).
I’ve been a registered nurse for two years now, and I’m burnt out. I want to make a career of this but I’m at a loss of how to do that in a broken system… There’s a couple wards I can think of where they have high staff turnover and it’s simply because staff are feeling super overwhelmed, unsupported and they value their safety more than this job. Some of my friends have moved to different hospitals or even moved to Australia for better working conditions and I don’t blame them. But I want to stick it out here because I strongly feel both staff and patients deserve better. How many more section 99 reports and Coroners Court investigations following murders and suicides need to happen in order for the Ministry of Health to wake up and listen to us on the frontline? (RN, Te Awakura – North Inpatients, Hillmorton Hospital).
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Defence News – NZ Army takes jungle warfare lessons from Philippines exercise

Source: New Zealand Defence Force

The New Zealand Army has completed its first Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines, improving its ability to fight a modern war amid the heat, humidity and venomous snakes and insects of the jungle.

New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, United States, Canada, France and Japan celebrated the successful completion of Balikatan 2026 during a closing ceremony at Camp Aguinaldo, Manila last week.

Balikatan, meaning “shoulder to shoulder” in the local Tagalog language, is a bilateral US-Philippines annual exercise designed to strengthen regional security through combined air, land, sea, cyber and space operations featuring maritime drills, coastal defence training, joint live-fire exercises and humanitarian projects.

Around 70 New Zealand Defence Force personnel, primarily from the NZ Army, have been in the Philippines for Exercise Balikatan since mid-April.

About 40 of those personnel are a NZ Army light infantry platoon group from 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, which was integrated into an Australian Army light infantry company from 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, to form Combat Team Jackal.

The NZ Army light infantry platoon has participated across a range of scenarios, shoulder to shoulder with Australian, Philippine and US personnel against a fictitious opposing force, as part of larger formations that cannot be easily replicated in New Zealand.

They also took part in jungle training delivered by the Philippine Marine Corps, and close-combat shooting in the jungle environment.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) also deployed movement operators, health specialists, cyber specialists, communications experts, and other supporting personnel, gaining valuable experience and demonstrating capability to partners.

In the lead up to Balikatan, defence cooperation between New Zealand and the Philippines has been strengthened.

In the past two years, New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement, held bilateral defence talks, signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement, participated as an observer to Exercise Balikatan in 2025, and held an inaugural maritime dialogue.

The NZDF’s participation in Balikatan reflects a strategic commitment to strengthening regional partnerships, enhancing tactical and operational interoperability, and contributing to regional stability in support of the international rules-based system in the Indo-Pacific.

Lieutenant Colonel Jason Tinsley, Senior National Officer for the contingent says New Zealand is fortunate to have likeminded partners within the Indo-Pacific region.

“A shared sense of purpose for maintaining stability and promoting the international rules-based order has made for an excellent working relationship with our partners on Exercise Balikatan.”

The unique environment of the Philippines has provided a valuable training ground.

“Unlike our Australian and Filipino colleagues, we are not routinely exposed to the dangers of heat, poisonous snakes, and virus-carrying insects,” Lieutenant Colonel Tinsley said.

“Facing and overcoming these challenges provides an excellent opportunity to enhance combat effectiveness in environments very different to New Zealand.”

The NZ Army light infantry platoon group as part of Combat Team Jackal is now taking part in Exercise Salaknib, also in the Philippines and involving the host country, Australia, Japan, the United States, and for the first time New Zealand.

Salaknib’s focus is conducting complex, multi-domain operations, including live-fire events, aviation and counter mobility operations and jungle training.

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World Vision – 50 MILLION REASONS TO ACT: NZERS URGED TO BACK LANDMARK SLAVERY LAW BEFORE DEADLINE

Source: World Vision

World Vision is urging New Zealanders to show their support for a Modern Slavery Bill by making a submission via Select Committee to ensure the Bill becomes law this year. 
The Modern Slavery Bill passed its first reading in Parliament with the overwhelming support of 112 MPs and now moves to the Education and Workforce Select Committee.
The committee is calling for public submissions on the proposed law which requires businesses with a revenue of more than $100 million to publicly report on modern slavery risks.
World Vision’s Head of Advocacy and Justice Rebekah Armstrong says it’s vital for New Zealanders to show just how much they support the Modern Slavery Bill.
“New Zealand currently has no law requiring businesses to identify whether their supply chains use forced labour, child labour or human trafficking and it’s important that the Select Committee knows how much New Zealanders want this rectified.
“We need as many people as possible to make a submission to show their support for the Modern Slavery Bill and to offer suggestions on how to make the law even stronger and more aligned with overseas jurisdictions,” she says.
World Vision New Zealand has developed a template submission to help guide Kiwis through the submission process at www.wvnz.org.nz/msl.
The submission strongly supports the Bill, but calls for it to be strengthened by including:
  • Stronger requirements for businesses to take action when they find modern slavery risks in their operations and supply chains.
  • A dedicated government entity to identify high-risk sectors and provide practical guidance and support for businesses.
  • A stronger victim-survivor centred approach to better identify, protect, and support those affected by modern slavery and exploitation in New Zealand.
“We want New Zealand to introduce a law that is credible, enforceable, and consistent with the direction other countries are taking to address modern slavery in global supply chains.  Modern slavery is a massive issue and currently affects more than 50 million people, including 8,000 right here in New Zealand.
“Submissions will help to guide the committee to create strong and robust legislation,” she says.
World Vision research shows that the average New Zealander spends around $77 a week [i] on goods that are likely linked to modern slavery, such as electronics, clothing, shoes, and toys.
Hundreds of submissions from school students attending World Vision Youth Conferences have already been made in support of the bill.
World Vision Advocacy Ambassador 18-year-old Delara Elavia says young New Zealanders are firmly behind the proposed law.
“Young people feel really strongly about this bill. They don’t want to be buying clothes, electronics, cosmetics and other products that have been made by children or by people working in appalling conditions.
“They want New Zealand to step up and do our bit to ensure our supply chains are monitored for modern slavery and that businesses take action to prevent it,” she says.
Some of the comments from young people in submissions to the Select Committee include:
  • “I do not want to worry about where my next outfit comes from and whether it is costing someone’s freedom.”
  • “I believe everyone deserves to have their mana protected and to be safe from exploitation and situations where they have no choices.”
  • “If you wouldn’t want to sit in those factories, why do you expect others to? These are people’s lives and they deserve to be able to live them to the fullest and not be forced to work for little to no money so we can experience momentary pleasure.”
New Zealanders have until May 28, 2026 to make a submission to the Education and Workforce Select Committee on the Modern Slavery Bill.
The World Vision template to make a submission can be found here: wvnz.org.nz/msl or a submission can be made directly to the Select Committee here.
Notes
The Modern Slavery Bill will introduce:
  • Mandatory reporting: requiring businesses and other entities with a consolidated revenue of more than $100 million to prepare, submit, and publish public annual modern slavery statements which detail incidents, risks, due diligence, remediation, complaints, and training across operations and supply chains.
  • Greater transparency and accountability: through an online public register of modern slavery statements, and annual reports detailing incidents, risk trends, offences, and civil penalties.
  • Enhanced support for victims: through requirements to guide government agency support, improve victim identification, and the services available to trafficking survivors.
  • Improved national data collection to track the scale of modern slavery, along with a regular review to strengthen modern slavery legislation in New Zealand.
A timeline of advocacy for a Modern Slavery Act:
  • March 2021: 100 businesses sign an open letter calling for modern slavery legislation.
  • June 2021: World Vision and Trade Aid delivered a 37,000-strong petition to the Government.
  • July 2021: The Labour Government establishes the Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group (MSLAG) to support and inform the development of an effective regulatory regime in New Zealand.
  • April 2022: The Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment solicits public submissions on a proposal for modern slavery legislation. More than 5,000 submissions were made with 90% in support.
  • September 2022: The Labour Government releases the feedback which showed widespread support from New Zealand businesses and individuals to introduce law to address modern slavery.
  • June 2022: When interviewed as leader of the opposition, Christopher Luxon says that an issue he would march in the streets for is modern slavery legislation.
  • March 2023: An independent poll finds that 81% of New Zealanders support legislation to verify the absence of modern slavery in supply chains.
  • July 2023: The Labour Government announces that modern slavery legislation will be drafted requiring businesses to publicly report on modern slavery risks.
  • May 2024: The National Coalition Government disestablished the Modern Slavery Leadership Advisory Group (MSLAG).
  • April 2024: When questioned about modern slavery legislation, Minister van Velden and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said this was not a current priority for the Government.
  • June 2024: Camilla Belich, Labour spokesperson for Workplace Relations and Safety questioned Minister van Velden on modern slavery at Parliament question time. Minister van Velden reiterated that modern slavery legislation is currently not a priority for the Government.
  • December 2024: World Vision NZ’s Rebekah Armstrong, barrister Jacob Parry, and ANZ’s ESG Lead Rebecca Kingi co-drafted the Modern Slavery and Trafficking Expert Practitioners (MSTEP) Modern Slavery Bill.
  • December 2024: The Labour Party issued a media release expressing its support for modern slavery legislation and calling on National to back it as well.
  • April 2025: National MP Greg Fleming lodged the Modern Slavery Reporting Bill as a Private Member’s Bill, focused on business reporting obligations. This complemented his Increasing Penalties for Slavery Offences Bill, currently before Select Committee.
  • June 2025, Labour MP Camilla Belich lodged a Modern Slavery Bill. This bill introduces similar business reporting requirements but is more comprehensive including updates to the Crimes Act stronger provisions for victim protection and support and the establishment of an Anti-Slavery Commissioner.
  • August 2025: The Minister of Justice announced plans to amend the Crimes Act to strengthen laws against trafficking, including many provisions recommended in the MSTEP Bill. World Vision launched its campaign urging politicians to work together utilising the rule of 61.
  • September 2025: 28 signatories, representing institutional investors and New Zealand businesses accounting for more than NZD 215 billion, released an open letter calling for urgent action on modern slavery legislation.
  • September 2025: The Government introduced the Adoption Amendment Bill to prevent trafficking and unsafe adoptions, signalling willingness to strengthen New Zealand's response to modern slavery and trafficking.
  • December 2025- both member bills were removed from the ballot.
  • January 2026 joint modern slavery bill introduced.
  • April 2026: Modern Slavery Bill passes its first reading in Parliament with the support of 112 MPs.
  • May 2026: The Education and Workforce Select Committee calls for public submissions on the Modern Slavery Bill
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Ombudsman publishes findings on Ministry of Education sensitive claims scheme

Source: Office of the Ombudsman

The Ombudsman has found that parts of the Ministry of Education’s scheme to assess sensitive claims are unreasonable for people who were abused or neglected in some state schools.
John Allen’s findings follow a complaint by Cooper Legal in 2023.
Mr Allen acknowledges the enormity and complexity of the task faced by the Ministry and other agencies in assessing whether to accept claims of historic abuse in care.
However, he says some aspects of the way the Ministry administered the scheme were inconsistent and unreasonable.
“It has taken far too long to process claims and there have been unjustifiable delays before the Ministry has published information about its framework around how those claims will be settled,” Mr Allen says.
“There are limits to the types of claims the Ministry will accept. We found that while the Ministry is following the rules under the current legal regime, the way this is done, excludes the cases of claimants who attended state secondary schools before 1 October 1989 where the schools still remain open. Instead, those excluded claimants must pursue their claims with the school directly.
“This creates significantly different experiences for those who meet the criteria to have their claim assessed by the Ministry and those who don’t.”
Mr Allen says the claims raise a host of difficult legal, ethical, and financial issues and pursuing them can have profound emotional and financial consequences for claimants.
“The scheme must be consistent with the principles of good administrative decision-making regardless of the complexities involved,” he says.
“The Ministry’s process and decisions must be transparent and justifiable. It must engage with individual claimants so the claimant understands how their claim is being assessed and understands what information they should provide to support their claim.”
The Ombudsman made three recommendations for improvement including that the Ministry finds ways to streamline the sensitive claims process, publishes its guidance, and makes sure (relevant) Ministers are advised on whether claims that are usually dealt with by schools could be incorporated into the state redress system.
Other aspects of Cooper Legal’s complaint have not been upheld.
The Ombudsman considered the Ministry’s approach was reasonable in terms of access and entry into the Ministry’s claims process, the role of claim reviewers, the Ministry’s position on not providing the claim reviewers reports to claimants and the scope of information accepted for consideration of a claim.
Additionally, the Ombudsman considered the application of the standard of proof, and its position on frameworks for breaches of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 was reasonable.
Mr Allen also made observations and suggestions on how the Ministry’s claims process could be improved. These include making information in its guidance and on its webpage clearer and ensuring the Ministry decisions on claims are adequately explained to claimants. 
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Northland News – Free BusLink travel for ages 5-24 during Youth Week

Source: Northland Regional Council

Northland Regional Council’s BusLink services are pleased to announce increased support for Youth Week, running from 18-23 May 2026.
To mark Youth Week 2026, BusLink will extend its usual free travel offer, with free bus services available to all young people aged 5-24 across the entire BusLink network for the week.
All BusLink services across the region will be free from Monday 18 May to Saturday 23 May for eligible young people. This includes CityLink, SchoolLink, and all regional BusLink services.
Chair of the Regional Transport Committee, Councillor Joe Carr, says the expanded offer encourages young people to make greater use of public transport.
“We hope this year’s enhanced Youth Week offering will encourage young people and families to try our region’s bus network,” says Mr Carr.
“Using public transport is good for the environment and good for families’ pockets – especially at a time when fuel prices are putting pressure on household budgets.”
“CityLink and Far North Link services run every weekday, and our regional BusLink services play a vital role in keeping communities connected.”
He says youth passengers can visit buslink.co.nz for service information and ticket details.
Free tickets will be available as digital downloads or paper tickets. One ticket is valid for the entire week and must be shown to the driver, either on a mobile phone or in paper form, in line with the terms and conditions.
Tickets can be obtained from week beginning 11 May:
– at Northland Regional Council offices
– at the Rose Street bus terminus
– from local BusLink operator offices
– at participating schools in Whangārei
– by scanning the QR code on posters
– via the BusLink website at buslink.co.nz
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Politics – A new political party has formed to combat New Zealand’s ongoing complicity in crimes against the people of Palestine

Source: PFFRS Party (Palestine Free From the River to the Sea Party)

A political party named “Palestine Free From the River to the Sea” has been formed to contest the upcoming general election.

The party explicitly supports a single democratic state with equal rights for all from the river to the sea in the historic land of Palestine.

“We chose the party name to reflect our belief in freedom for all people,” says party President Paul Hopkinson, “but also to challenge the creeping fascism that seeks to silence our speech as a thought crime. Our party name itself is illegal in Queensland and Germany. They fear that the public will realise that we only ask that Palestinians have the same human rights that we all enjoy and our government claims to support.”

Aotearoa/New Zealand has a special responsibility to the Palestinian people as one of 33 nations to vote for the partition of Palestine in 1947. This precipitated the violent ethnic cleansing process known as the Nakba or Catastrophe.

As a direct result, millions have lived for generations with statelessness, grinding poverty, dispossession, persecution, and untold acts of brutality that include torture and rape. Palestinians live constantly with the fear of sudden injury or death. Parents face the anguish of being unable to keep their children safe from harm.

Under UN Resolution 194, and the UN Refugee Convention, refugees (including descendents) have the right to return to Palestine. Aotearoa voted in favour of this.

“Our government has repeatedly sought to assuage its guilt by voting to uphold the law in the UN,” says Paul Hopkinson, “but it never lifts a finger to act. We pretend to have morals, but for nearly 80 years we have acted like cowards while a whole nation cries for simple justice.”

People who believe in human rights and people who believe that the government of Aotearoa must live up to its obligations are invited to visit the party website at palfree.nz. Those eligible to vote in New Zealand can join the party for a fee of $2.00.

The objectives and principles of Palestine Free From the River to the Sea are all described at https://palfree.nz. According to the website the aim is to: “Build a broad, democratic party that unites supporters of Palestine from all traditions, allowing different ideas and perspectives to be discussed in an environment of tolerance and respect.”

You are all invited to join the fight for what is right.

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Research – Shock survey result – one in four public service workers thinking of leaving NZ – PSA

Source: PSA

Govt attacks on workers taking toll
Key findings from PSA survey:
– 27% of public service workers are thinking of leaving NZ for better pay
– Nearly half (49%) of workers under 25 are considering leaving – rising to 44% for those aged 25-34
– Health sector and public service department workers most likely to be looking to leave (29%); Auckland workers highest at 33%
Shocking new findings from a major PSA survey show more than one in four public service workers are thinking about leaving New Zealand for better pay – with the figure rising to nearly half of all workers under 25.
“These figures are a damning indictment of this Government’s relentless attacks on public service workers. We are staring down the barrel of losing an entire generation of the skilled workers New Zealand needs to deliver the services our communities depend on,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
The 7,600 members who responded were asked whether they either agreed or strongly agreed that they were thinking about leaving the country for better pay.
“Nearly half of workers under 25 are thinking about packing their bags. These are the nurses, social workers, corrections officers and home support workers who should be the future of our public services – instead they’re looking to Australia where they’ll be paid thousands more and treated with respect.
“A mental health nurse starting on $77,000 in New Zealand can earn the equivalent of $93,000 in Melbourne. A prison officer starting on $70,000-$80,000 here can earn the equivalent of $97,000 in Victoria.
“We represent 8,000 home support workers who look after our most vulnerable people who were crushed when the Government betrayed them and cancelled their pay equity claim. About a quarter of them are thinking about leaving for Australia, where they would earn between $6 and $10 more per hour for the same work, with better conditions and allowances.
“It’s no wonder people are voting with their feet.
“The Coalition Government has launched attack after attack on workers’ rights, pay and conditions. The cuts to thousands of public service jobs have left public service workers fearing for their job security. Taken together, these attacks amount to the most comprehensive assault on working people in a generation:
– Slashing public sector spending, axing thousands of jobs and gutting the services New Zealanders rely on
– Ripping up pay equity rules, denying more than 180,000 mainly female workers the pay they deserve and making it harder to lodge claims in the future
– The Employment Leave Bill, which will cut sick leave and holiday pay for part-time and irregular workers – hitting women and low-paid workers hardest
– Weakening personal grievance protections through the Employment Relations Amendment Act, making fire-at-will a reality for every worker
– Changing the Health and Safety at Work Act that will water down employers’ safety obligations and put workers at greater risk of injury, illness and death
– Axing Fair Pay Agreements and reinstating 90-day fire-at-will trials
– Suppressing the minimum wage while handing tax breaks to landlords, business and tobacco companies
“Behind these survey numbers sit thousands of stories of lost potential. These are people educated in New Zealand who have developed critical skills and experience – scientists, care workers, meat inspectors, health professionals, corrections staff. Once they’re gone, that expertise walks out the door and may never come back.
“We used to tell ourselves it didn’t matter because most people came back. That’s no longer true. The pay gap with Australia is so large, and conditions here are deteriorating so fast, that people are making permanent moves.
“The Government cannot plug these gaps by recruiting from overseas when our pay rates are so far behind. You can’t underpay your own workforce and then expect to attract talent from abroad.
“This Government’s priorities are crystal clear – tax breaks for big tobacco, landlords and businesses while the workers who keep our hospitals running, protect vulnerable children and deliver frontline services are left feeling they have no future here.
“ACT, NZ First and National have systematically come after working New Zealanders. These survey results and talent drain are the consequence. The Government needs to wake up before it’s too late – you cannot build a prosperous country by driving away the people who make it work.”
Survey results
The PSA represents over 98,000 workers across New Zealand’s public sector, local government and community organisations.
The survey was conducted in March 2026 with 7,600 PSA members responding. Key findings:
  • Across the full spread of public and community services, 27 % of those
who responded said that they either agreed or strongly agreed that they
were thinking about leaving the country for better pay.
  • People working in the health sector (29%), for public service
departments (29%) and in the State services (28%) were slightly more
likely to agree or strongly agree with this than people working for local
government (23%) or community providers (25%).
  • Of those living in the most populous regions, people living in
Auckland were the most likely to agree with this (33%)
  • Younger people were significantly more likely to agree with this than
older people (49% of those under 25, 44% of those 25 – 34, compared with
25% of 45 – 54 year olds 17% of 55 – 64 year olds and 9% of those over
65).
  • There was no significant difference by gender that was not a factor of
age.
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
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NGOs – Every day life in Gaza – new ChildFund film

Source: ChildFund New Zealand
A new short film that follows families living in Gaza, and supported by New Zealand donations, has won a prestigious film award in Italy.
‘Everyday in Gaza’ was filmed in the Gaza Strip in spring 2025, and tells the story of families determined to keep things as normal as possible in one of the world’s most challenging humanitarian contexts. A local barber for example, continues to serve customers among the rubble.
“It’s a beautiful story of how people try to hold on to everyday routines, fragments of human dignity, in the middle of war,” says Josie Pagani CEO of Childfund New Zealand.
The film also introduces Wafa, a woman caring for orphaned and disabled children. She not only provides care, but also education, and moments of normal childhood for these children.
“It's important that Kiwis can see where their donation goes, and to be reassured that it is not being politicised in any way, and is reaching children and families who need support the most.”
The film is made by ChildFund’s Italian partner, WeWorld, who work directly with these families in Gaza, with the help of donations from New Zealanders.
According to the United Nations, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and 172,000 injured since October 2023. Displacement remains near-total, with approximately 1.9 million people displaced, many repeatedly, and more than 1.2 million people having lost their homes.
The conflict has pushed human development in Gaza back by an estimated seventy-seven years, according to UN and EU reporting. Families remain reliant on emergency water trucking and humanitarian support, provided through ChildFund partners.
“For children, routine matters. Care matters. Play matters. Education matters. When everything around them has been disrupted, these moments help children hold on to a sense of safety and hope.”
In April, ChildFund New Zealand, in partnership with WeWorld, distributed water to support 18,000 people and provided dignity or hygiene kits to 7,540 families.
“The film will give Kiwis a better understanding of the daily reality for children and families in Gaza,” says Josie Pagani.
“New Zealanders care deeply about children caught in any conflict. This film gives us a direct view of what daily life looks like, and why support for children and local communities remains urgent in Gaza, Israel, the Middle East and in any conflict area.”
‘Everyday in Gaza’ is available to watch here:  https://youtu.be/L_Tnj2H0_fY?si=j2RB-vF1G7IWNSvG
ChildFund New Zealand’s Children of Gaza Appeal is here:  https://childfund.org.nz/children-of-gaza/
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Advocacy – Global Sumud Flotilla Legal Team Confirms that Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila will be Released in the Coming Hours

Source: Aotearoa Delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla

ASKALAN, OCCUPIED PALESTINE – The legal team of the Global Sumud Flotilla has confirmed that Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila will be released in the coming hours. Both will ultimately be transferred to an immigration detention center in Egypt, where they will remain in custody until their deportation is carried out. The GSF legal team is still actively coordinating through diplomatic channels the release of both to happen in the same transport.

We celebrate this news as a victory and a reminder that international mobilization and sustained pressure exerted worldwide has an impact. We ask the world to continue to pressure for their release until Saif and Thiago are safely returned home. We also ask for the same sustained pressure to be applied to the release of our Tunisian friends and the nearly 10,000 Palestinian political prisoners and hostages being held illegally in israeli prisons.

We demand explanations from the European Union, and specifically, Greece, after days of silence and complicity, and we call for immediate sanctions against Israel for this illegal abduction and for the constant violations of international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people.

These detentions are not exceptional. They are an extension of the same system of imprisonment, administrative detention, torture, and impunity imposed on the Palestinian people for decades, now expanded beyond Palestine’s borders into international waters.

We will remain mobilized until all Palestinian political prisoners and hostages are freed; and in the same spirit, until our Tunisian comrades are freed. Free Palestine.