Reading the Sunday Star Times (22.3.2026) caused me to observe the devolution of much of what is meaningful to our collective society. The health and wellbeing of our nation is, indeed, under continuous attack through deliberate dismantling of legislation, infrastructure, policy and procedure that should lift us up equitably. Instead, George Orwell’s “1984” reminds us of the mechanisms of power that compromise our right to live healthy lives in a society that is being systematically dismantled by a Coalition Government without us, ignoring the checks and balances of due process.
Imagine if we as nurses ignored due process during medication administration or any procedure that we conduct. Doing so would increase the likelihood of avoidable harm to our patients and their families. Yet this is exactly what the Coalition Government is doing. Some examples are outline below from the Sunday Star Times.
Media articles covered the Government’s decision to partner with a vape firm that has taken it to court five times in a bid to keep nicotine limits high in vaping products. The company has been awarded a “vape to quit smoking programme” by Te Whatu Ora. How does that work when 50,000 of us have died since 2010 with smoking related causes? This is the same government that stopped the increasingly successful Smoke Free campaign under urgency without any public consultation.
A “Five days of fuel” article looked at pressure at the pump that highlighted the stressors a large majority of people are trying to cope with. As one person said – its one thing after another – food, fuel, roadworks, (housing, jobs, education) whatever Trump is doing that drags everyone else in the world into. The impact on those who are unemployed, or in low wage jobs such as community support workers who rely on their cars for work is reaching breaking point. To add insult to injury Foodstuffs CEO said that the fuel costs will impact on supermarket prices. Little is being done by the government to reduce the financial and health impact on workers, their families and those in the community they care for. The ripples of suffering from the lack of decisive and meaningful government leadership to help rather than hinder the people of this nation, continue.
The shadow of Trump is getting longer. Another Sunday Star Times article explores “Demonising Migrants”. Proposed amendments to the 2009 Immigration Act by Erica Stanford are being challenged as they will give immigration officers more powers to stop, question and detain people suspected of overstaying if they are not carrying identification. The changes may lead to fear in targeted communities. Whatever this Is, it will exacerbate fear, racism and division. The Coalition Government has been called out on being ‘The most overtly racist government in decades’ | E-Tangata as the changes to legislation, policy and funding negatively impacts on the rights and outcomes of Māori. This includes overt opposition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The psychosocial stressors of our current context, on those with little power, control or choice is escalating in parallel with all the constant attacks on legislation that is supposed to support us, protect us, and uplift us. Proposed changes to the Health and Safety in Employments Act which will see psychosocial stressors removed from identified critical risks. Nurses and many other women workers face under recognised risks in the workplace such as psychosocial harm, gendered violence and harassment, and musculoskeletal risks. The Bill’s “critical risk” framework, including regressive critical risk definition, and fails to recognise the impact of these risks. The proposed prioritisation framework is built around the traditional, male-dominated industrial hazard profile that has long dominated health and safety practice, as though women don’t warrant the same protections given to men. It is short-sighted, unethical and discriminatory to reduce the system's capacity to address these risks. Moreover, the short submission period has compounded the (deliberately) inadequate and narrowly targeted consultation processes. All of which impacts on workers rights to safe and decent work.
Yet I know that we the people can stand up and fight back. One such individual is Enrolled Nurse Leonie Metcalfe. Her life and works were celebrated at her well attended funeral on Saturday. Her life is an example of what nurses have done and continue to do to reverse and improve legislation that impacts on us as a profession and as human beings. Her relentless commitment to doing what was right was recognised in 2021 when she received the NZNO Award of Honour as an invaluable Enrolled Nurse leader. I know that there are many more of our NZNO members, just like her. No matter what is in front of us, we will stand up and fight back. And we WILL WIN.