NZNO invites your feedback on proposed changes to the way sex and gender data are collected in New Zealand.

Stats NZ proposes changes that aim to be more inclusive, particularly of transgender and intersex people, by recording and presenting information on sex and gender that is accurate, respects individual human rights and better meets information needs.

The statistical standards are important because they provide guidance for people and organisations on how to collect and use sex and gender data.

Please find further consultation information here.

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 6 August 2020.

NZNO welcomes your feedback on PHARMAC’S proposal to list 113 Medical Devices supplied by Cardinal Health in the following categories:

• Urology products
• Continence products
• Surgical suction chest and wound drainage, and
• Non-dedicated and consumable infusion devices.

Please find further consultation information here.

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 23 July 2020.

NZNO invites your feedback on PHARMAC’s proposal to list rehabilitation equipment, patient positioning products and supports supplied by At Therapy Limited and Morton & Perry Limited in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 September 2020.

Under the proposal, the suppliers above would be listed under proposed national agreements for all DHB hospitals to purchase under. The proposal would result in listing 1,228 products in the Pharmaceutical Schedule. DHBs could continue to purchase other suppliers’ brands of Rehabilitation Products.

Please find further consultation information here. 

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by Wednesday 8 July 2020.

NZNO invites your feedback on the Ministry of Health’s national guidance on contraception. The Guidelines, and associated training, aim to :

• increase access to effective contraception options for New Zealanders
• support informed choice
• increase uptake of long-acting reversible contraception, and
• support health practitioners to have consistent, culturally safe and youth friendly conversations on sexual health and contraception.

The draft guidance is based on a range of existing guidelines, literature reviews, and the views of the National Contraception Guidelines Steering Group.

Please see plan below

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by Monday 13 July 2020.

NZNO welcomes your feedback on this draft document which provides ethical values to guide actions during a pandemic. This Framework is part of the NEAC planned review of their 2007 document 'Getting Through Together: Ethical Values for a Pandemic'.

The Framework is a high-level guidance document that helps health workers and policy makers consider ethics when allocating resources for COVID-19. It also aims to help decision-makers to identify the ethical tensions and recommends the establishment of decision-making groups to work through the tensions and uphold transparency of decisions.

The framework includes Te Tiriti principles and equity as a core principle. It sets out four essential ethical principles and four Te Tiriti principles that medical staff, service planners and policy analysts should consider when responding to pandemics.  Equity as a concept recognises different people have different levels of advantage, therefore require different approaches and resources to get equitable health outcomes.

There is an optional question in this consultation that asks for your views on what ethical issues should be covered in the update.

Final draft NEAC framework:

https://consult.health.govt.nz/neac/resource-allocation-ethics/supporting_documents/NEAC%20Framework%20for%20Resource%20Allocation%20final%20draft.docx

Please send feedback to Leanne.rahman@nzno.org.nz by 3 July 2020.

NZNO warmly welcomes your feedback on this plan which provides a national approach to supporting the mental and social wellbeing of New Zealanders in the COVID-19 recovery period. This plan provides a framework for collective actions to support whānau and communities to adapt and thrive in the next 12 to 18 months. It draws on the directions for mental wellbeing that were laid down in He Ara Oranga: Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction. Your input will help build a collective picture of how the nursing workforce is contributing to COVID-19 recovery and will assist with shaping a further iteration of the plan, anticipated for September 2020. 

Please see the plan below.

Please consider the following questions:

1. Do the vision, principles and focus areas in the plan resonate with you? 
2. In what ways does your organisation see itself contributing to the focus areas in the plan?
3. What do you think the critical factors to ensure success of this plan?
4. What positive examples of actions to support mental and social wellbeing are you aware of?

Do you think there is anything missing from the plan?

Please send feedback to  PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 8 June 2020.

NZNO welcomes your feedback on this draft of NZNOs election manifesto ‘Nursing Matters – even more in 2020’

In particular, we are interested in your views about the five themes the manifesto addresses – health workforce; health funding models; achieving health equity; health determinants and the health related referendums.  Also your feedback is sought on the expected actions of the new government that the document itemises and the implications for members of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please send feedback to sue.gasquoine@nzno.org.nz by Monday June 8^th 2020.

NZNO welcomes your feedback on this draft statement on indigenous child health in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The statement has been developed by paediatricians with expertise in Māori, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander health.

Please note a recent media statement from the RACP highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic may exacerbate existing inequities in Aotearoa New Zealand without the right exit strategy, and that the campaign to #MakeHealthEquityTheNorm is more important now than ever. The RACP is calling for the exit strategy to keep health equity – particularly in housing, work and wellbeing – as the central guiding principle.

The draft statement for review can be viewed below.

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 27 May 2020.

Condoms and other contraceptive devices supplied in New Zealand are required to meet a gazetted standard. Updates to the standards were last implemented in 2014. Since that time, four of the five International Standards Organisation standards have been updated, one of the NZ Standards which had been gazetted has been removed and the second NZ Standard is proposed for removal by Standards NZ.

Medsafe is undertaking a process of aligning the NZ standard requirements with those accepted by other major international regulators to ensure that contraceptive devices sold here meet the current internationally accepted requirements and to remove any NZ specific requirements which would hinder supply of devices into the market.

NZNO welcomes your feedback to inform this process.

Please complete this online survey and send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 23 April 2020.

NZNO warmly welcomes your feedback on this significant Bill, which extends regulatory coverage to all vaping and smokeless tobacco products. The Bill aims to strike a balance between protecting children and young people from the risks associated with vaping products, and enabling smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives. 

The Bill applies many of the existing restrictions for smoked tobacco products to vaping and smokeless tobacco products. In particular, the Bill prohibits:

• the sale of vaping and smokeless tobacco products to persons under the age of 18; 
• the advertising and sponsorship of vaping and smokeless tobacco products; and
• ​the use of vaping and smokeless tobacco products in indoor workplaces, early childhood centres, and schools.

To ensure that less harmful products are available as a quitting tool, the Bill exempts vaping and smokeless tobacco products from some of the restrictions that otherwise apply to smoked tobacco products. E.g. all retailers can display vaping and smokeless tobacco products at the point of sale, but cigarettes and loose leaf tobacco must be kept out of the public’s sight.

Please find the Bill attached here: 
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/BILL_94933/smokefree-environments-and-regulated-products-vaping

Please send feedback to Leanne.Manson@nzno.org.nz by 25 March 2020.

NZNO seeks your feedback on the above Bill which aims to  improve conditions for people looking after family members with special care needs, such as those relating to disability, long-term chronic illnesses, mental health and addiction, and aged care needs.

It would do this by removing Part 4A from the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. Part 4A of the original act prevents many people who work as carers for family members with disabilities from receiving payment for their support services. It also prevents people from making complaints about this to the Human Rights Commission, or for starting certain court proceedings about payment.

Please see the link for the Bill.

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 26 March 2020

NZNO is seeking informal feedback on the first draft Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill

This is a first draft which the Government has published at this point to ensure that New Zealanders are informed about the direction being taken and the decisions that have been made to date.

A final draft of the Bill will be available later this year, and this is the version that will be voted on in the referendum. If more than 50% of the vote is 'Yes', after the election the incoming Government may introduce a Bill to Parliament that would make recreational use of cannabis legal.

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 16 March 2020.

NZNO welcomes your feedback on this bill which makes a range of changes to make the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 fit for modern renting situations in New Zealand. NZNO is of the view that addressing the availability, affordability, quality, and security of rental housing is fundamental to improving population health and equity in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The provisions of the Bill aim to:

• increase security of tenure for tenants;
• promote good-faith relationships in the renting environment;
• modernise and clarify the Act to reflect the modern renting market and environment;
• enhance powers and tools for the chief executive of the department responsible for the administration of the Act; and
• support tenants' ability to assert their legal rights.

Please see link for the Bill 

Please send feedback to PolicyAnalysts@nzno.org.nz by 18 March 2020.

In election year NZNO publishes a manifesto “Nursing Matters”, to profile for members and other voters, health related election issues from the perspective of this member led organisation. 

Please respond with issues that you believe need to be included in NZNO’s manifesto.  There will be a second round of consultation in March that asks for member feedback on a draft manifesto before it is finalised and published.

Please send feedback to sue.gasquoine@nzno.org.nz by Fri February 21st.

NZNO seeks your feedback on the above Bill which, if passed, would create a regulatory body to oversee, administer, and enforce a new drinking water regulatory system.

Taumata Arowai–the Water Services Regulator (Taumata Arowai) would be established as a new Crown agent dedicated solely to drinking water.

It would also provide for its governance arrangements, including the establishment of a board and Māori Advisory Group. 

A dedicated drinking water regulator was recommended by the Havelock North Drinking Water Inquiry as necessary to oversee the entire drinking water system, help prevent tragedies such as the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak, and ensure New Zealand communities have access to safe and acceptable drinking water.

Please see link for the Bill