Category: Media releases

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Costly Transgender Procedures Funded By Taxpayer

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

16 December 2024  

According to an Official Information Act response from Health NZ / Te Whatu Ora, the taxpayer is funding more than $1 million dollars each year towards enabling people to surgically change their sex via vaginoplasty, metoidioplasty and phalloplasty procedures. The demand is higher for the removal of the penis, testicles and scrotum. Demand for these surgical procedures is predominantly in the 18-25 and 26-35 age brackets.

According to Te Whatu Ora, “Of the 326 patients on the waiting list, 243 have requested a feminising procedure and 83 a masculinising procedure. Therefore, it can be assumed of the sex assigned at birth of these patients 243 were assigned male at birth and 83 assigned female at birth.” (our emphasis added)

Age ranges of the 326 patients are:

18–25               94

26-35               148

36-45               51

46-55               22

>55                    11

Vaginoplasty involves removing the healthy penis, testicles and scrotum to create a vulva and vagina.

Metoidioplasty involves creating a penis about 4 to 6 centimeters long using the clitoris, which may be enlarged by hormone therapy. The surgery can be completed in stages, each performed a few months apart, depending on the patient’s objectives.

Phalloplasty uses a tissue flap from the arm or thigh to create a larger phallus that can accommodate a penile prosthesis and penetration. Phalloplasty is a multistage operation, with urethroplasty to enable standing urination performed later. Phalloplasty is complex and has a higher risk of complications, including infection, scarring, and narrowed urethra.

Despite the relatively small number of surgeries actually performed, the cost is significant.

[Where the number of individuals is less than five, Health New Zealand used <5 to avoid revealing sensitive information about potentially identifiable individuals in the data. It is also important to note that some patients may require more than one procedure.]

Health NZ were unable to quantify the costs of mental health assessment, psychiatric support or counselling – if these even occurred.

A Swedish study followed a transgender group of adults from 1973-2003. This study found:

Persons with transsexualism, after sex reassignment, have considerably higher risks for mortality, suicidal behaviour, and psychiatric morbidity than the general population. Our findings suggest that sex reassignment, although alleviating gender dysphoria, may not suffice as treatment for transsexualism, and should inspire improved psychiatric and somatic care [restore the natural balance within the body-mind system to resolve physical and mental stress) after sex reassignment for this patient group.

And a recent Finnish study said:

… “Although the rate of suicide [in the Finnish study] is just over four times higher among trans young people than their peers, this is explained by their more serious psychiatric problems. When these psychiatric problems are taken into account, there is no evidence that transgender people have a higher rate of suicide.”

This Finnish study vindicates their decision four years ago to adopt a more cautious treatment policy which first targets psychiatric, social and educational problems among gender-distressed youth before any assumption of a stable trans identity justifying “experimental” affirmation with hormones or surgery.

The researchers say in their BMJ Mental Health paper; “It is of utmost importance to identify and appropriately treat mental disorders in adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria to prevent suicide; in addition, health policies need to ensure that accurate information is provided to professionals along these lines,”

A study published in April entitled “Risk of Suicide and Self-Harm Following Gender-Affirmation Surgery” evaluated patient data from nearly 60 U.S. health care organisations, comprising millions of patients. The study concluded: “Individuals who underwent gender-affirming surgery had a 12.12-fold higher suicide attempt risk than those who did not.” Those who had undergone gender-transition surgeries were nearly five times more likely to attempt suicide than those who had undergone tubal ligations or vasectomies, the study found. It warned: “Gender-affirming surgery is significantly associated with elevated suicide attempt risks, underlining the necessity for comprehensive post-procedure psychiatric support.”

What is most concerning is that the demand for these unnecessary operations here in New Zealand is only likely to increase.

According to Official Information Act data gained by Family First from the Department of Internal Affairs, almost 900 people in total have changed their birth certificates to their ‘self-identified gender’ since the new birth certificate law came into force last year. Children are changing the sex on their birth certificate, including 47 children 15 years or younger.

Demand to be recognised as a female was greatest with 445, followed by male 302, and non-binary 142.

Health NZ say that since 2020 the service has been publicly funded to deliver up to 14 gender affirming genital surgeries (either feminising or masculinising) per year.

In a poll at the end of 2018, 63% opposed taxpayer funding for hormone treatment and surgery for people who wished to change their sex. 27% supported it, and a further 11% were unsure or refused to say.

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New Zealand wharfies join international day of action against Qube Ports

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

New Zealand maritime workers will be rallying in support of Australian workers at Qube Ports on Monday 16 December 2024.

Australian wharfies at Qube are stopping work at ten ports in an International Day of Action to expose Qube Ports’ refusal to take safety, fatigue and work-life balance concerns seriously during bargaining for a new employment agreement covering more than 1000 workers.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says New Zealand wharfies will be supporting the Maritime Union of Australia in their struggle, with delegates heading across the Tasman in both directions, an international video link, and protest events to be held in two New Zealand ports.

TAURANGA informational picket Monday 16 December (1pm–3pm)
Hull Road, Mt. Maunganui (Port gates)

GISBORNE informational picket Monday 16 December (Morning)
Corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Hirini Street

Maritime Union of Australia delegates and MUNZ officials will be attending these pickets and available to talk to media.

Mr Findlay says Qube management need to be aware their actions in Australia will have consequences for their brand and credibility internationally unless they change their attitude towards their workforce.

He says the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) and the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) will be “acting as one.”

Qube Ports in Australia is an ASX listed behemoth which has extracted mega-profits in recent years from the productivity delivered by their hard working employees, and has doggedly refused to sit down and negotiate a new agreement with their workforce. 

The MUA says Qube has repeatedly dismissed safety and fatigue concerns and declared it unprofitable to operate a business which takes safety seriously. 

While wharfies’ pay has gone backwards against inflation, executive bonuses and shareholder dividends have soared. Over the last four years, Qube profits have jumped by 148%.

The MUA has repeatedly called on the company to return to the bargaining table and engage meaningfully with the safety, fatigue and work-life balance concerns that Qube employees are raising.

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Legal Advice Tells Health Ministry to Pause Puberty Blockers

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

13 December 2024

Family First has written to the Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati requiring the Ministry of Health to remove the reference to the PATHA Guidelines in the Position Statement on the Use of Puberty Blockers in Gender-Affirming Care issued by the Ministry on 21 November 2024.

Family First has been legally advised that such a reference may be illegal.

The Guidelines for Gender Affirming Health care for Gender Diverse and Transgender Adults in Aotearoa New Zealand written by activists from PATHA makes statements on puberty blockers which are not supported by the findings from the Ministry’s own evidence brief, as summarised in the Position Statement on the Use of Puberty Blockers in Gender-Affirming Care, nor by other probative evidence.

The consent forms in the appendices to the PATHA guidelines also state: “Blockers are a reversible medication used to stop the physical changes of puberty. It can be started in early puberty (Tanner stage 2–3). This position is reinforced by the reference in the Health NZ website to PATHA under “Resources for transgender New Zealanders and their whanau”.

Not removing the reference to the independent PATHA Guidelines is also inconsistent with the Position Statement stating that “Clinicians will continue to provide careful guidance to and follow up for people and families considering gender-affirming care.”

Family First has advised the Director General that there are four reasons why failure to remove reference to the PATHA Guidelines may be illegal:

  • the findings of the Evidence Brief mean that the PATHA Guidelines include fundamental mistakes of fact. Those Guidelines confidently state that puberty blockers are safe and reversible (and effective). Yet the Position Statement found that there is no quality evidence to support any of these findings. This leads to a lack of informed consent
  • the Ministry of Health is effectively advising Doctors, parents, and young people over 16 that the PATHA Guidelines are safe and factually accurate guidelines to use in the interim while the Ministry works with Health NZ to devise clinical guidelines.
  • the consent form does not set out the risks of harm due to the lack of quality research about lack of harm and reversibility. The PATHA Guidelines say puberty blockers are safe and reversible as does the consent form you sign to start “treatment.” The potential breaches of sections 8-10 of the Bill Of Rights Act (BORA) must be viewed in the factual context that the Court of Appeal in the UK has found regarding puberty blockers: “the clinical interventions involve significant, long-term and, in part, potentially irreversible long-term physical, and psychological consequences for young persons.
  • the reference to the PATHA Guidelines in the Ministry’s Position Statement breaches the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). The misinformation in the PATHA Guidelines and included consent forms are not in the best interests of children under UNCROC.

Family First believes for these legal reasons alone, it is critical that the Ministry act immediately and make regulations under the Medicines Act to stop the prescribing of puberty blockers for delaying puberty in gender incongruent or gender dysphoric young people because there is insufficient quality evidence that puberty blockers are both safe and reversible and efficacious in the treatment of gender dysphoria.

The letter has also been sent to the Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti and Associate Ministers of Health Matt Doocey, Casey Costello and David Seymour.

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Reappointment of Tony Gibson to maritime industry board role a travesty

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Maritime Union says the reappointment of disgraced former Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson to a director position at Marsden Maritime Holdings (MMH) is a travesty and an insult to the memory of workers killed and injured on the job.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says workers are in disbelief at the absolute lack of judgement shown by MMH.

Mr Gibson was found guilty in November 2024 of a health and safety charge stemming from his former role as CEO of Port of Auckland Limited.

Maritime NZ laid charges against Mr Gibson under the Health and Safety at Work Act after the death of a stevedore, Pala’amo Kalati, in 2020.

Marsden Maritime Holdings is a New Zealand Exchange-listed (NZX) company, which has a 50% stake in Northport, a marina, and significant industrial land holdings.

Mr Findlay says the news shocked workers who lived through the Gibson years at Port of Auckland, which saw deaths and serious injuries, sustained attacks on the workforce, and a failed automation project that cost Aucklanders hundreds of millions of dollars before Mr Gibson’s resignation.

Mr Findlay says there is a culture of impunity for directors and senior managers.

“What more does it take for a public company to say time to go?”

Mr Findlay says it’s a case of “jobs for the boys” and a glaring example of the double standard applied, as workers would be sacked for far less serious offences and find it hard to get back into work.

“The corporate elite need to get the message that the working-class majority are getting sick and tired of seeing this entitled self-serving attitude.”

He says the Maritime Union congratulates Port of Auckland, a minority shareholder in MMH, for its principled decision voting against Mr Gibson’s reappointment.

Mr Findlay says the stance of the New Zealand Shareholders Association who directed proxy votes against the reappointment was also a responsible course of action.

He says MMH CEO Rosie Mercer should retract her praise of Mr Gibson.

“Let’s be absolutely clear – there are families who will be missing someone this Christmas because of avoidable workplace deaths. Marsden Maritime Holdings should be ashamed at this insult to the memories of workers who lost their lives.”

He says the Maritime Union would be following the issue up with Northland Regional Council and would be seeking the removal of Mr Gibson from the MMH Board.

The Maritime Union would continue to campaign for corporate manslaughter laws.

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Six years of work wasted – Holidays Act reform now years away

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Brooke van Velden has wasted six years of work from businesses, unions, and government by binning planned Holidays Act reforms, said Acting CTU President Rachel Mackintosh in response to today’s announcement from Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety.

 “The Minister has cynically kicked the can on Holiday Act reform even further down the road, meaning an even longer delay for workers trying to get their basic rights to leave recognised,” said Mackintosh.

“The Government is again making decisions that are bad for workers by departing from an agreement that ensured any changes wouldn’t be damaging to working people.

 “When this review commenced, businesses and unions agreed that Holidays Act reforms would not result in leaving workers worse off. The change in direction announced today throws that agreement up in the air.

“Workers and businesses have asked for clarity around their Holidays Act requirements. Rather than getting on with the job, all the Minister has done today is ensure greater uncertainty for even longer.

“Her proposed new model could also mean that every worker would need to record their hours worked, which would add complexity to the system. The Minister needs to listen to workers and business as social partners and implement what was already agreed.

“In her speech today, the Minister mentioned she was listening to employers and “experts” but failed to mention workers. This is more evidence that she is making decisions for only the employer side of the employment relationship, not the millions of workers in this country.

 “After six years of work and tripartite agreement on the future of the Holidays Act, today the Minister has taken us back to the start. In doing so, she also appears to have taken protections for workers off the table.

“This is yet another example of this Government deliberately making life harder for working people,” said Mackintosh.

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Government ferry announcement fails to launch

Source: Maritime Union of New Zealand

The Union representing Cook Strait ferry workers has expressed amazement at the Government’s announcement today on the Cook Strait ferries.

Maritime Union of New Zealand National Secretary Carl Findlay says the Government has just kicked the can down the road on hard decisions once again.

“The only real announcement today was Nicola Willis announcing she will soon be sacked from the Finance portfolio.”

The appointment of Winston Peters as Minister for Rail and the setting up of a Schedule 4 entity to procure ferries were widely expected, he says.

He says no costs were provided by the Finance Minister and the Government was using commercial confidentiality as a fig leaf to conceal how its decisions had led New Zealand into a very expensive dead end.

Mr Findlay says the Finance Minister’s claims that her ferry deal would be cheaper than the iRex project had no credibility.

“How can she make such bold assurances when she hasn’t got a deal or even a confirmed plan?”

He says the only clear information available was that the ferries would be smaller and less capable, with no information about port side infrastructure.

The suggestion of private operators being involved created more confusion, he says.

“What New Zealand wanted today was certainty and a path forward, and what we got was an admission of failure from the Minister of Finance.”

Mr Findlay says the appointment of Winston Peters as Minister of Rail was an interesting situation, as Mr Peters understood the New Zealand rail network requires rail enabled ferries, unlike the Minister of Finance.

He says there is still an opportunity for New Zealanders to insist the Government procure fit for purpose rail enabled ferries.

“In the meantime, the future of this essential infrastructure hangs in the balance.”

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NZCTU slams Government’s ferry fiasco

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is slamming the Government for failing to show any leadership on infrastructure delivery after they revealed today, they have no plan to replace the Cook Strait ferries a year on from their decision to cancel the iReX project.

“Today’s announcement by the Minister of Finance showed why New Zealanders shouldn’t trust this Government on infrastructure – despite wasting huge amounts of money and time, they still have no coherent plan to replace the Cook Strait ferries,” said Acting NZCTU President Rachel Mackintosh.

“It has been a year since the Government cancelled the existing contract and we know little more now than we did then. We have no information on where replacement ferries are coming from, how much they will cost, who will pay for them, or how the port infrastructure will be delivered. We don’t know how much it will cost to cancel the existing order.

“New Zealand had contracts for ships that had been set to arrive in February 2026 and September 2026. We are now planning on having ships possibly arrive sometime in 2029.

“The ferries are reaching the end of their service life, and all we have been given another working group. The original project should never have been cancelled.

“Crucially, it now appears as if the decision has been made to take rail-enabled ships off the table. The Government is now talking about being “rail compatible”. This will mean using lorries to put freight on and off ferries. This will take longer, is less efficient, will raise costs for users, and will likely increase emissions.

“The Government announcement also appears keen to privatise the service, stating that they are open to proposals from the private sector. This would likely mean that a private entity will take profit out of a service currently being run by government.

“Workers on the Cook Strait ferries, service users, and New Zealanders all deserve better than this. This is a plan to have a plan at some point in the future. What is needed is action,” said Mackintosh.

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NZCTU urges political parties to vote down extreme anti-worker bill

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is calling on political parties to vote down Brooke van Velden’s Employment Relations (Pay Deductions for Partial Strikes) Amendment Bill, as it would undermine the ability of workers to engage in industrial action and may even lead to workers losing pay for simply doing the job they were employed to do.

“Enabling pay deductions for partial strike action is bad lawmaking and will have the opposite effect of what the Minister is claiming to achieve through this law change,” said Mackintosh.

“Allowing employers to deduct wages for partial strikes allows for the intimidation of workers and may mean that partial strike action will be abandoned, forcing workers to fully withdraw labour, which will escalate disputes.

“Industrial action is supposed to help level the power imbalances in employment relationships that favour employers. This change undermines that and tips the balance of power even further in favour of employers by introducing a punitive response to legitimate industrial action.

“It is absurd that the Minister considers that work-to-rule is a form of partial strike. Work-to-rule just means following the letter of your employment agreement, for example choosing not to change a scheduled shift or complete a task that is outside the scope of your role.

“What this will mean is that a worker could be punished financially for simply doing the job they were employed to do, and not even engaging in strike action.

“The Bill currently before the House is in contradiction with our international commitments to provide workers the right to organise and collectively bargain, and to provide adequate protection to workers against acts of anti-union discrimination in employment.

“We believe that the Government should be proactively enabling and engaging in upcoming public service collective bargaining rather than creating loopholes and escapes to undermine the country’s employment relations framework.

“The only winners of this Bill will be the lawyers. This legislation will lead to increased litigation, and prolonging bargaining and industrial action at the expense of both workers and employers.

“Christopher Luxon is once again allowing the ACT party to advance its extreme anti-worker agenda in this latest round of brazen attacks on the rights of working people,” said Mackintosh.

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Lockout of disability workers before Christmas unacceptable

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh is condemning the actions of disability support provider Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau Trust in deciding to respond to legitimate strike action by locking out their workers with just a few weeks before Christmas.

“The actions of Te Roopu Taurima are totally unacceptable and represent a flagrant attack on the rights and conditions of their workers,” said Mackintosh.

“These workers are striking over their basic right to secure jobs and a liveable income, resisting their employer’s attempts to restrict secondary employment and introduce discriminatory 90-day trials.

“Locking out low-paid disability workers before Christmas is shameful. Workers who support the disabled in our communities should be valued and celebrated, not bullied, and coerced to accept an unjust deal.

“Lockouts are an extreme and irresponsible course of action and are never an acceptable way of resolving employment disputes. In this case the lockout was also called illegally as the employer didn’t give 14 days’ notice or outline their negotiating demands.

“It seems that Christopher Luxon’s government has emboldened employers to follow their lead and treat workers badly,” said Mackintosh.

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Marsden Fund changes will undermine prosperity and social cohesion

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

The Government’s rewrite of the Marsden Fund’s investment plan and terms of reference demonstrates a complete lack of understanding and risks undermining the breadth of research that is essential for the wellbeing and prosperity of New Zealanders, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Acting President Rachel Mackintosh.

“Humanities and social science research, which has been defunded by the Government, provides fundamental insights into how our society and culture works and how we can overcome the key challenges we face, from climate change to housing to inequality,” said Mackintosh.

“The narrow focus on funding hard science research, on the basis that this will improve economic performance, shows how misinformed this Government is. Social science research provides critical insights in fields like public health, housing, education, and urban planning and infrastructure – which are all fundamental drivers of economic outcomes.

“Humanities research helps us uncover where we have come from as a society, the stories we tell ourselves, and our place in the wider world. It shows us how the many identities that make up this country can live together with empathy, understanding, and social cohesion – which are more crucial than ever in an increasingly divided world.

“This Government simply doesn’t understand what it is doing, nor how harmful its decisions will be for the future prosperity and social cohesion of Aotearoa New Zealand,” said Mackintosh.