Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Peace Action Ōtautahi

17/08/2026

Activist group Peace Action Ōtautahi (PAŌ) is anticipating significant protest action at the National Aerospace Summit, held at Te Pae Convention Centre, Christchurch, on October 1st and 2nd, 2026. The group had organised the blockade of the 2025 summit, which saw 37 activists arrested outside the event.

PAŌ spokesperson Joseph Bray: “Building on the success of Peace Action Ōtautahi's 2025 aerospace blockade, activists from around the country will be descending once more on Te Pae Convention Centre to protest against this convention of weapons manufacturers and war profiteers.”

“We promise that this year's protest will be unavoidable for the aerospace industry” says Bray.

October 1 & 2, 2026

Te Pae Convention Centre, Christchurch.

Source: Save the Children

More than 8,000 children in Indonesia’s southernmost province of East Nusa Tenggara are facing safety risks and disruptions to their education after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Flores.

Around 50 people have died, although casualties are likely to rise, and thousands have been displaced following the earthquake.

While the full extent of the destruction is still unfolding, more than 900 homes were damaged by the quake and hundreds of aftershocks. Essential public infrastructure has also been affected, including 87 education facilities and 18 healthcare centres, disrupting services critical to children's well-being.

A second 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off the country’s western island of Sumatra, underscoring Indonesia's vulnerability to seismic activity, being located on the Pacific “Ring of Fire”.

Agus-, 46, and his wife Euis-, 39, who are both visually impaired, told Save the Children how they raced to save their six-month-old son when the quake struck the highland town of Ruteng on Flores Island. The family lives at a special-needs school, where Euis works as a teacher.

Agus said:

“Once we reached the backyard, the shaking grew much stronger. At its peak, I couldn't even stand up. I held onto my child, my wife, and my mother-in-law. My wife couldn't hold onto me tightly because she had to hold the baby. So I spread my feet wide and tried my best to wrap my arms around all of them. We managed to hold that position for about a minute because the quake was so violent.”

Save the Children is assessing the needs of affected children and families in East Nusa Tenggara with a local partner organisation in order to launch a response. The earthquake struck against a backdrop of existing challenges, including an El Niño-driven drought and ongoing volcanic risks linked to Mount Lewotobi. The cumulative impact of these successive disasters threatens children’s health, protection, education and psychosocial well-being.

Fadli Usman, Humanitarian and Resilience Director at Save the Children Indonesia, said:

“This deadly earthquake has caused a lot of pain and damage, while exacerbating existing vulnerabilities caused by recurrent disasters in Flores. Children are among the most at risk. Protecting their well-being and future requires more than addressing their immediate needs; it requires sustained investment in recovery and resilience. Together with our local partner organisation, CIS Timor, we are working towards supporting affected children and families.”

Immediate priorities include ensuring children have access to education and supporting the livelihoods of families in order to prevent loss of learning, malnutrition, child labour, early marriage and other protection risks, added Usman.

Alongside life-saving support, Save the Children said that equal priority must be given to restoring essential services, strengthening family and community resilience, and creating opportunities for children to recover from the earthquake.

Save the Children has been working in Indonesia since 1976, responding to major humanitarian disasters like the 2004 tsunami and the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake.

-Names changed to protect identity.

Background

Figures are based on data from the government and the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB).

About Save the Children NZ:

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.

Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.

Source: World Vision

World Vision has launched an emergency response following a powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia’s Flores Island over the weekend.

At least 50 people have been confirmed dead, thousands of children and their families have been displaced, and strong aftershocks continue to affect communities across the island.

Fatalities have been reported across East Nusa Tenggara Province where the earthquake struck at a depth of about 15km.

Search and Rescue teams are continuing efforts to reach survivors, but have been hampered by multiple aftershocks, several measuring above magnitude 5.

Isolated communities have been cut off by landslides and damaged roads, and authorities are still working to determine the full scale of the disaster.

World Vision Indonesia’s Disaster Management Manager, Fransisco Fernando, says children and families are facing days, weeks and months of fear and uncertainty.

“Our hearts go out to all those who have lost loved ones, homes and livelihoods in this devastating earthquake.

“We are particularly concerned for children. Many have experienced terrifying shaking, rushed evacuations and the loss of the places where they normally feel safe. Experiences like these can have a profound impact on a child's sense of safety and wellbeing.”

Fernando says as the aftershocks continue, rescue efforts are racing against time to reach isolated communities.

“Thousands of people are displaced and there is widespread damage to schools, homes and health facilities.

“World Vision is in the region right now distributing shelter kits so affected children and families who have been left homeless have some temporary shelter,” he says.

The children’s charity will truck clean water to isolated villages this week so that villages have access to safe water.

Fernando says while search and rescue efforts remain the immediate priority, it is also critical that there is a focus on children’s long-term needs.

“It’s vital that children have access to protection, psychosocial support and the basic assistance they need to recover.

“We’re very worried that the earthquake may further exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities across Flores, including water scarcity, food insecurity, malnutrition, and mental health and child protection concerns.

“Continued El Niño conditions will also heighten the risk of crop failure, further worsening household food insecurity,” he says.

New Zealanders can help children and families affected by the earthquake: www.worldvision.org.nz (http://www.worldvision.org.nz)

Source: IHC New Zealand

Research by IHC shows that New Zealanders with intellectual disabilities want to work and can work but are shut out of employment opportunities.

A new report, Untapped Potential: The Employment Reality for People with Intellectual Disability (https://www.ihc.org.nz/get-involved/advocacy/untapped-potential-the-employment-reality), combines national employment, tax, and survey data with the lived experiences of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. While the report reveals a stark picture of employment discrimination and income inequity, it also provides practical solutions to help thousands more people into meaningful work.

The research shows employment has a profound impact on people with intellectual disabilities, providing identity, belonging, and pride and is linked to better health and wellbeing outcomes, as well as greater social connection, improved confidence, and stronger financial security.

Those benefits are experienced by only a small percentage of the intellectually disabled community. Just 26 percent of working-age people with intellectual disabilities are in paid employment, compared with 80 percent of people without intellectual disabilities. Of the people with intellectual disabilities who do work, almost 60 percent are paid less than the minimum wage.

IHC Senior Advocate Shara Turner says the report’s findings show people with intellectual disabilities are being failed by systems that should support them into employment.

“People with intellectual disabilities are not excluded from employment because they lack ability; they are excluded because our employment market is not inclusive.”

The report identifies changes needed to improve employment outcomes, such as better school-to-work transitions, tailored employment support, education and support for workplaces to make accommodations, more inclusive employer practices, and policy settings that encourage workforce participation.

Shara says improving employment outcomes would benefit not only people with intellectual disabilities, but also employers, communities and the wider economy.

“People with intellectual disabilities represent an enormous, untapped potential. Creating more inclusive workplaces is not charity. It's about opportunity, recognising the unique value people can bring when given the right support, and seeing the economic and social benefits from investing in people with intellectual disability. New Zealand cannot afford to overlook the skills, commitment and contribution that people with intellectual disabilities offer.”

Alice Matthews, who has an intellectual disability, was looking for work for about four years before Choices NZ helped her start in a receptionist job at IHC two years ago. Alice says employment has given her more independence and confidence.

“I love it. It has been one of the best things that’s ever happened in my life,” she says. “People have given me a chance that I never had before.”

IHC will use the report findings to call on government, employers and the community to work together to create solutions that better support people with intellectual disabilities to find and keep meaningful work.

Key report findings

• Only 26% of working-age people with intellectual disabilities are in paid employment, compared with 80% of people without intellectual disabilities.

• People with intellectual disabilities are more likely to be in part-time, insecure and informal employment arrangements.

• More than half earn less than $25 per hour and nearly one in five earn below the minimum wage.

• People with intellectual disabilities are more vulnerable to job loss during economic downturns.

• During Covid-19 targeted government intervention mitigated employment vulnerabilities and protected employment for people with intellectual disabilities.

• Employment is associated with better wellbeing, health, belonging and financial independence.

Read the report in full, plain language or Easy Read here. (https://www.ihc.org.nz/get-involved/advocacy/untapped-potential-the-employment-reality)

Source: Northland Regional Council

PUBLIC TRANSPORT COST EFFICIENCY AWARD 2025/2026

Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) transport team has been recognised with the national Public Transport Cost Efficiency Award for 2025/26.

Of New Zealand’s 17 regional councils, Northland’s BusLink network was recognised for having the lowest cost per capita, the lowest cost per kilometre and the lowest cost boarding.

The award is a fantastic achievement that recognises NRCs commitment to delivering an efficient and cost-effective public transport network to the people of Te Taitokerau.

It reflects the work undertaken by the NRC Transport team to carefully manage operating costs, maximise fare revenue and secure private funding contributions to help offset costs.

Recent fare adjustments have also contributed to improving the overall financial performance and sustainability of the public transport network.

NRC’s BusLink network includes CityLink and SchoolLink services in Whangārei and BusLink services around the region; the Far North Link, Mid North Link, Bream Bay Link, Hokianga Link and Hikurangi Link. Find out more at buslink.co.nz.

Source: Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland

MONDAY, AUGUST 17, 2026
University of Auckland researchers have conducted what may be the world's deepest physiological study of freedivers, helping explain blackouts and other effects of extreme depth.

Research into why freedivers black out and experience unusual symptoms at extreme depths has been recognised by the American Physiological Society as one of the world's top recently published physiology papers.

The pioneering study collected arterial blood samples from elite freedivers at depths of up to 80 metres during open-water dives, offering rare insight into how the body responds to extreme physiological stress.

Professor Simon Mitchell, head of anaesthesiology at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and consultant anaesthesiologist Dr Tom Scott, led the ambitious expedition to Dominica in the eastern Caribbean, backed by Inkfish Expeditions. Bringing together researchers, elite freedivers and specialist mixed-gas divers, the mission investigated how the body responds to extreme breath-hold diving.

“No one had ever collected arterial blood samples during dives like these before,” Mitchell says.

“What makes this study remarkable is how difficult it was to pull off. This project required multiple areas of expertise to come together for it to work.”

Mitchell has been named the 2026 recipient of the prestigious NOGI Award for Science, recognising his contributions to diving science.

The American Physiological Society has also selected his paper, ‘Arterial blood gas changes in progressively deeper breath-hold dives’, for APSselect, a monthly showcase of outstanding physiology research published in the society's journals.

The research examined three elite freedivers, including University of Auckland alumnus and world champion William Trubridge, the first person to dive deeper than 100 metres without changing his weighting or using fins.

The study unveiled three major findings.

“Carbon dioxide levels go extremely high during these deep dives, high enough to explain many of the symptoms freedivers experience at depth,” Mitchell says.

The team also found the reason for the sudden loss of consciousness some freedivers experience near the surface.

“We showed that oxygen levels drop extremely quickly as divers return to the surface and their lungs expand. That's why blackouts can happen so suddenly, with almost no warning,” he says.

A third, unexpected finding was a previously unknown physiological phenomenon. Rather than continuing to rise as the lungs are compressed during descent, oxygen levels peaked at about 40 metres before declining during deeper descent.

“Nobody knew that occurred, before this study,” Mitchell says.

The findings could help make freediving safer.

“Our work explains why those blackouts occur and serves as a reminder not to put yourself in situations where they're more likely,” he says.

“It's important to freedive very conservatively and never push beyond your limits. The deeper you go, and the longer you stay at depth, the higher the risk.”

The research suggests the unusual sensations elite competitive freedivers experience at extreme depths may stem from carbon dioxide impairing brain function.

“We at least have an explanation for it now, and it should remind people not to push deeper if they're getting those kinds of symptoms,” he says.

Blood samples were collected at 20, 40, 60 and 80 metres to track how oxygen and carbon dioxide levels changed during breath-hold dives.

“The project depended on three areas of expertise: the freedivers' ability to complete the dives, the mixed-gas divers, including me, who could spend four hours underwater day after day, and the extensive surface support that made the entire operation possible,” he says.

Among the expedition's key personnel was Dr Richard Harris, the Australian anaesthetist and cave diver who helped rescue 12 boys and their football coach from Thailand's flooded Tham Luang cave system in 2018. Harris joined the team as one of the specialist mixed-gas divers responsible for collecting blood samples at depth.

The study was inspired by Professor Mike Grocott's landmark research, which measured arterial blood gases in climbers at extreme altitude, including near the summit of Mount Everest.

“I read that Everest paper and thought, 'What if we could do the same thing in freediving?' Nobody had done it before,” Mitchell says.

The project team is planning a return to Dominica next year to continue investigating the effects of extreme carbon dioxide levels and explore whether additional safety recommendations can be developed for freedivers, he says.

A mini-documentary released on YouTube follows the expedition and captures the challenges of conducting science in one of the world's most demanding environments.

Mitchell is quick to share the credit.

“We had an amazing team from the University and extraordinary support from Inkfish,” he says.

Read the study

See the mini-documentary

Source: Burnett Foundation Aotearoa

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa today called on all political parties to commit to the goal of zero local HIV transmissions by 2030.

“With numbers tracking downwards in recent years we have a real shot at becoming the first country to eliminate local transmissions, but it won’t happen without the support of whoever forms the next government,” says Liz Gibbs, CEO of Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, formerly the New Zealand AIDS Foundation.

“Better medicine funding, increased testing, reducing stigma and racial inequities, are all necessary for us to eliminate local transmissions,” said Liz.

The Foundation distributed its Roadmap to Zero (https://www.burnettfoundation.org.nz/media/5784/roadmap-to-zero.pdf) to candidates from all parties today, outlining the practical steps needed to eliminate local HIV transmissions by the end of the decade.

“The progress we’ve made so far in reducing local transmissions was only possible because of the continuity in support from successive governments. And it’s only through this spirit that we can get to zero”.

The roadmap outlines four key priorities, which include expanding access to prevention tools like PrEP and modern HIV medicines, improving access to HIV testing, addressing health inequities experienced by Māori, and continuing efforts to reduce the stigma that still surrounds HIV.

According to Burnett Foundation Aotearoa, almost half of HIV diagnoses in 2025 were diagnosed late, while New Zealand continues to lag behind comparable countries in funding and approving modern HIV medicines. The Foundation is calling for faster access to new treatments, including long-acting injectables like Cabuneva already available overseas, and broader access to HIV prevention services.

“Eliminating local HIV transmission is not only a health goal, it's an economic one. Earlier diagnosis, better access to treatment and wider uptake of prevention tools reduce lifelong health costs and prevent future infections.”

The Foundation is also urging parties to commit to targeted action to address inequities. In 2025, Māori accounted for a quarter of all locally acquired HIV diagnoses despite making up a much smaller proportion of the population. “Future progress depends on solutions designed by, with and for Māori communities,” said Gibbs.

Burnett Foundation Aotearoa said reducing stigma must remain a central part of New Zealand's HIV response.

“Too many New Zealanders still hold outdated beliefs about HIV. Stigma discourages people from getting tested, accessing prevention tools and seeking care. If we want to reach zero transmissions, we need to ensure people feel safe, supported and informed.”

“Aotearoa has a genuine opportunity to achieve something that would be internationally significant. Zero local HIV transmissions by 2030 is within reach. Now we need political leaders to help us get there.”

Source: World Vision New Zealand

This World Humanitarian Day, World Vision warns that the growing use of drones in conflicts is threatening children’s survival, humanitarian access, and aid workers’ lives.

In the past three years, more than 1,000 humanitarian workers have been killedi, with 350 killed in 2025 alone, the second-highest number ever recorded.

The danger to humanitarian workers has been mirrored by attacks on health and education facilities, with more than 8,500 attacks on education services in 2024/5ii and nearly 800 attacks on health care centres and personnel in 2026 so fariii.

World Vision New Zealand’s Head of International Partnerships, Stephen Court, says the use of drones in conflict has made humanitarian work more dangerous than ever before.

“The buzz of a drone overhead signals danger and causes panic for children, families, and humanitarian workers.

“Drones can now be heard above hospitals in Sudan, over war-torn villages in Ukraine, along roads where aid convoys are travelling, and where children wait for food, medicine, clean water, and safety.

“The growing use of drones and other emerging technologies are ultimately leaving children cut off from the help they need most,” he says.

Court says drone attacks are being used more widely in places like Sudan and Ukraine and there are regular reports of children hiding when they hear the hum of drones overhead.

“Technology may be changing how conflicts are fought, but it cannot change our responsibility to protect human life and dignity. Every drone strike that closes a clinic, destroys a road, or forces aid workers to turn back is also an attack on a child’s chance to survive.

“Humanitarian workers are not targets. Hospitals are not targets. And children are not collateral damage,” Court says.

He says when aid workers are attacked or blocked from reaching people in need, children are left waiting for food, medicine and protection that may never come.

Court says protecting humanitarian workers is ultimately inseparable from protecting children. Every attack that prevents aid workers from reaching a community exposes children to hunger, disease, violence, exploitation, and despair.

On World Humanitarian Day (19 August), World Vision honours the humanitarian workers who have lost their lives and those who continue to serve in the world’s most dangerous places, but says remembrance must also be matched by protection, access, and accountability.

The children’s humanitarian charity is calling for:

– Protection for humanitarian workers, civilians, and civilian infrastructure in
line with international humanitarian law.

– Guaranteed safe, sustained, and unimpeded humanitarian access for children and families
affected by conflict.

– Independent investigations, accountability, and consequences for attacks on
humanitarian workers, healthcare facilities, and other civilian

infrastructure.

– The international community to address the humanitarian consequences of drones
and other emerging military technologies, including their impact on

humanitarian access, civilian protection, and children’s safety.

Those wanting to support World Vision’s work with children living in some of the world’s most dangerous places, can give here: www.wvnz.org.nz/CHR (https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wvnz.org.nz%2FCHR&data=05%7C02%7Cashley.miln%40worldvision.org.nz%7Cb3a6265e78254a4dbd0c08def7f43dd0%7Cd39a12cb99ee472bbf2de6e93e7d9f44%7C0%7C0%7C639220825611856425%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=1VLFEvKNu7T7KEyPq%2B2JeN5Fa8jKnfXXlJioA7yxxCY%3D&reserved=0)

World Humanitarian Day 2026

World Humanitarian Day is marked annually on 19 August. The 2026 campaign, #ActForHumanity, calls for stronger protection of humanitarian workers, accountability for attacks and safe humanitarian access for people in crisis.

About World Vision

World Vision (https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wvi.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cashley.miln%40worldvision.org.nz%7Cb3a6265e78254a4dbd0c08def7f43dd0%7Cd39a12cb99ee472bbf2de6e93e7d9f44%7C0%7C0%7C639220825611890175%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=N1kgcGSPElFelxwEM15jQcXoj30IYtxE7ZJ8ib6F3zs%3D&reserved=0) is a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families and their communities to reach their full potential by tackling the root causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit www.wvi.org (https://apc01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wvi.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cashley.miln%40worldvision.org.nz%7Cb3a6265e78254a4dbd0c08def7f43dd0%7Cd39a12cb99ee472bbf2de6e93e7d9f44%7C0%7C0%7C639220825611914625%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2BC3ynQJ%2FkHsQxJpudVaNOnekyNl42Lag8BzVrB6ztVM%3D&reserved=0)

Source: Health and Disability Commissioner

Safety and quality of care for older people must be at the centre of any reform of New Zealand’s aged care system, Aged Care Commissioner Erin James says.

This comes following the release of the Aged Care Ministerial Advisory Group’s report 'A place to grow old, securing the future of aged care,' which was published today.

The report makes a raft of recommendations, including increasing access to home-based care, streamlining assessment of care needs, and implementing changes to the aged care funding model.

“I welcome the release of this report, which reflects considerable thought from the Ministerial Advisory Group about what is needed for a sustainable aged care system that meets future demand,” Ms James says.

“New Zealand’s aged care system is under pressure. Many older people are struggling to access the care they need, when and where they need it, which is a significant concern.

“However, it is critical that we are designing a system that is not only focused on funding adequacy, but also on the conditions required for safe, rights-based, person-centred care.”

Ms James says she is supportive of increasing older people's options for care, including increasing access to home-based care.

“This is highly desirable for many older people and supports their independence, choice and connection to their family, whānau and community.

“The recommendation to extend the Ngā Paerewa Health and Disability services standards to in-home care providers is positive and is something HDC has been advocating for over many years.

“However, current monitoring and oversight of the residential aged care system should not be diminished given the particular vulnerabilities of people in these care settings.”

Ms James noted that it will be important that safeguarding approaches and the rights of older people are key focuses of subsequent reform.

“This will help ensure that older people’s rights to dignity and respect are upheld and they are protected from avoidable harm in care settings.”

She says she looks forward to working alongside relevant stakeholders as these proposed changes progress to ensure older people can access safe, quality health care, which is not only essential for their wellbeing, but a fundamental right.

Ms James says she hopes to see older people and their family or whānau involved in the future reform of our aged care system.

“As Aged Care Commissioner I will be focused on ensuring that the rights of older people remain embedded in the design of any future aged care system and will continue to monitor the impacts of reform on access and quality of care.”

The Aged Care Commissioner advocates for quality health and disability services on behalf of older people and their family and whānau.

HDC promotes and protects the rights of people using health and disability services as set out in the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (https://www.hdc.org.nz/your-rights/the-code-and-your-rights/) (the Code).

Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi

Today’s Ministerial Advisory Group report on aged care will only deliver the system older New Zealanders need if it comes with real pay equity for the workforce that delivers it.

“More than ever, as our population ages, we need to get this system right and built to last, but the key to that is a workforce that is fairly paid and protected for the vital work those caring for the elderly do,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

The PSA is the union representing thousands of workers caring for the elderly in their own homes.

“We support the vision of a properly integrated aged care system that helps people age well in their own homes. But the report itself admits a more integrated system will not be achievable ‘without a sustainable and capable workforce to deliver it’.

“The Government commissioned this report after scrapping pay equity, and then excluded workforce pay and conditions from this review’s scope.

“You can’t have it both ways. If a well-trained, fairly paid workforce is critical to making this reform work, and the report says it is, then pay equity and secure employment must be part of the conversation.

“We’re calling on all parties this election to commit to restoring and maintaining the legally established pay equity rate for home support workers. Anything less isn’t reform, it’s a repeat of the same underfunding that’s driven workers out of the sector for years.

“We need home support workers more than ever, and they need a secure career path so more stay and more join this vital workforce to care for our rapidly ageing population in their homes.

“But home support workers are employed in a precarious way, chasing broken shifts with no guarantee of hours. That has to change to a model that delivers fairly paid, guaranteed shift work, not piecemeal rostering that leaves workers unable to plan a life or build a career.

“We welcome the recommendation to extend Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act to care and support workers, which protects workers’ jobs and conditions when contracts change hands between providers. The PSA has already settled cases confirming this coverage, but the Government needs to make sure it is never in doubt.

“On worker’s travel, the PSA has already had to take legal action under the Wages Protection Act because home support workers were being short-changed on the true cost of driving between clients. The report’s proposal to modernise in-between travel is a step in the right direction, but it must properly cover the real cost of vehicle use.

“We support a genuine workforce strategy for care and support workers, but it needs to be developed in real partnership with unions, not just consultation after the decisions are made.

“This is a significant report, and it deserves genuine engagement from every party and that means commitment to funding the system properly and guaranteeing workers see the benefit. It has never been more vital to get this right.”

The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi (https://www.psa.org.nz/) 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.