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Source: Toitū Te Tiriti and Kaiāwhina Aotearoa

Toitū Te Tiriti and Kaiāwhina Aotearoa unequivocally condemn the abhorrent actions of Destiny Church targeting faith communities in Tāmaki Makaurau on Saturday, 21 June. 

“This was not a protest. It was a calculated media stunt that caused harm to many communities across Aotearoa,” stated Arama Rata, spokesperson for Kaiāwhina – a group that provides community care at protests in Tāmaki Makaurau.

On Saturday afternoon, Destiny Church members marched down Queen Street, led by Brian Tamaki. During the march, Destiny affiliates desecrated flags representing Buddhist, Sikh, Muslim, Palestinian and Rainbow communities, while spouting hateful rhetoric and performing haka.

Spokesperson for Toitū Te Tiriti Eru Kapa-Kingi criticised the action stating “this action was not rooted in our tikanga,” as, “haka should not be misused to disrespect and attack others – all peoples have mana and tapu.”

“The leaders of Destiny should be ashamed in using whānau who are still finding themselves to push their own hate politics” Eru also said. 

Public displays of vitriol are known to create the conditions for physical violence. The Royal Commission into the March 15 terror attacks warned explicitly about this trajectory. “When communities are openly targeted in this way in our streets, it demands our immediate action,” Rata stated.

She continued, “We reject the actions of Destiny Church. They do not represent Māori. Brian Tamaki’s stated goal to rule New Zealand as the head of Christian nationalist state is fundamentally opposed to our Māori liberation movement, and should not be tolerated.”

Kapa-Kingi concluded, “During the Hīkoi Mō Te Tiriti, we were honoured to march side by side with Tangata Tiriti of all faiths who came to show their support for Māori and to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi. To our whānau who are Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Palestinian, Rainbow and Takatāpui, we see you and commit to standing by you against violence.”

A potential 13 percent increase in funding for general practice shows the benefit of a strong collective voice that supports family doctors and face-to-face consultations in our communities, says GenPro Chair Dr Angus Chambers.

The government announced today a 6.4 percent increase for general practice funding to reflect increasing costs, an uplift additional to a previously announced $95 million boost.

“Combining these would contribute a nine percent uplift in base capitation funding (with conditions) and an up to 13 percent total funding increase in the year ending June 2026, a level that is welcome and will help ‘steady the ship’,” says Dr Chambers.

“While not all general practice can access the $95 million, the overall increase is a marked improvement from previous years.

“It shows the Government is listening to GenPro, which called before the Budget for a minimum 10 percent increase to stabilise the viability of family doctors so they could continue to operate.

“Hon Simeon Brown is the first health minister in successive governments to have delivered a much-needed increase in funding, and we thank him for it.”

However, after years of under investment by successive governments, general practice will need another 10 percent or more increase in investment next year for it to stay viable, warns Dr Chambers.

“While the increase announced today will aid retention it will do nothing to encourage recruitment of new general practitioners. This will require long-term solutions with greater support than that offered today
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“To put the funding boost into context, general practice will receive about $1.5 billion or just five percent of the $31 billion health budget. A 10 percent uplift was urgently required for 2025/26 just to catch up and maintain existing services, and more investment will be needed in later years.”

Dr Chambers said the investment recognised the collective advocacy by GenPro members, who are owners and providers of general practices and urgent care centres throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

For more information visit  www.genpro.org.nz

Source: National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)

A Natural Hazards Resilience Partnership has been signed today to enhance New Zealand's response to and recovery from natural disasters.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake (NHC), and the Insurance Council of New Zealand Te Kāhui Inihua o Aotearoa (ICNZ) have formed the Natural Hazards Resilience Partnership (the Partnership) to lift the coordination and cooperation in responding to and recovering from major disasters in New Zealand.

The Partnership brings together key government and private sector organisations to improve national resilience by streamlining the sharing of information, aligning resources, and strengthening the overall response and recovery system following natural hazard events.

“The Partnership is a proactive step in ensuring that New Zealand is better prepared to respond to and recover from major natural disasters,” NEMA’s chief executive Dave Gawn said.

“Collaboration is crucial in emergency management, so we can support New Zealanders and their communities when they most need it. By working together, we can improve outcomes for affected communities and reduce recovery timeframes.”

“New Zealand is a country at high risk of natural hazards. Very few areas are without risk, and we know that after personal and whanau safety, the safety and security of your home very quickly becomes a key focus for people impacted by natural disasters. So insurance plays a critical role in helping communities to recover,” NHC Chief Executive Tina Mitchell said.

“Climate change makes it ever more important that we work together to prepare for and respond to natural hazard impacts. This Partnership leverages New Zealand’s unique public-private insurance system, which has been in place for 80 years, and strengthens how we’ll work together across the system to support community recovery.

“All the members of this Partnership share a commitment to learning the lessons from past events and building our ways of working, so that we’re better prepared for future major events, together,” she said. 

The Partnership will boost New Zealand's resilience including the opportunity to collaborate before an event occurs to improve the system’s readiness, ICNZ Chief Executive Kris Faafoi said.

“Insurance funds a sizeable portion of the recovery from most disaster events. Integrating insurers into the response and recovery allows for the best possible coordination of the entire system.

“The insurance sector can relieve a significant burden from the agencies leading response and recovery by looking after insurance customers and providing certainty to get Kiwis back on their feet as quickly as possible.”

Dave Gawn said this is one of several initiatives the Government is pursuing to lift the country’s emergency management system by investing in change.

“The Partnership is a great example of where opportunities for improvement have been identified, and the sector is collaborating to make these changes happen. 

“It helps ensure role clarity across the insurance and emergency management sectors, and it supports prosperity by ensuring that there is no daylight between response and effective recovery.

“The Partnership is a key example of how investing in building trusted relationships in quiet times, means we will benefit from the consequent increase in resilience in turbulent times.”

The Partnership will improve coordination across the insurance system and will allow the pursuit of shared goals across the 4Rs of emergency management (Risk Reduction, Readiness, Response, and Recovery).

The emergency management system is an integral part of the broader national resilience system. Other related work includes local government reform, resource management reform (including national direction on natural hazards) and National Adaptation Framework, science sector reforms, and Crown risk financing and incentives for pre-event risk reduction.