Category: Politics

National’s cutting of digital staff in our health system will put patients at risk and leave hospitals vulnerable to cyber-attack.

Feedback from Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora staff on proposed redundancies in data and digital staff reveals deep concerns about a ‘fail early, fail often, succeed over time’ strategy.

“Patient data is too important to let the systems that manage and protect it fail. This is New Zealand’s health system – not tiddlywinks. It needs to be taken seriously,” Labour acting health spokesperson Peeni Henare said.

“National’s cuts have already affected the frontline, which is a broken promise. 

“Cuts to data and digital services will have consequences for New Zealanders trying to get care, from the potential for their personal information being hacked, to accurate record keeping of their health information.

“Cuts to data management will disproportionately impact Maori, Pacific and rural communities.

“National has made a big song and dance about targets in health, but without the data to back up what they’re doing, it will only make it easier to game the system – as they have done in the past.

“On top of the crisis in leadership that Christopher Luxon is overseeing at Health New Zealand, these ongoing cuts to the frontline are only going to make it harder for everyday New Zealanders to access the healthcare they need. The cuts must stop,” said Peeni Henare.

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The Government is putting cost-cutting ahead of kids’ safety with its decision to cut rural school bus routes in Northland.

“Expecting young students to walk along state highways and endure extreme weather just to get to school is utterly irresponsible and a slap in the face to working families,” Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said.

“This Government’s decision to cut essential school bus routes is putting our kids in harm’s way. I worry that it’s only a matter of time before tragedy strikes.”

The latest reports from Northland show at least seven schools are affected, with some students facing long, treacherous walks on busy highways like State Highway 10.

The reduction of Whangaroa College’s bus service has left two dozen students without safe transport options. Local school leaders have raised concerns that the risk of accidents will increase, especially in winter when students must travel in darkness and heavy rain.

“These are not minor inconveniences, these are serious safety risks that no parent should have to worry about. Erica Stanford refuses to acknowledge the reality for working families in rural communities.

“Rural kids deserve the same access to safe and reliable education as their urban peers. Erica Stanford must step up, acknowledge the harm these cuts are causing, and restore rural school bus routes before a preventable disaster happens,” Jan Tinetti said.

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Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy.

“Dumbing down the rules for the investor visa risks watering down the economic benefits for New Zealand,” Labour immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford said.

“Allowing people to buy residence by parking their money in a passive investment like property that won’t generate jobs or sustainable economic development for New Zealand doesn’t sit well. 

“Kiwi venture capitalists looking for investment opportunities urged the Government to keep Labour’s rules in place, and not open up to passive investments.

“This will stick in the craw for the hard-working migrants who have to crawl over cut glass to get residence. Giving the fast track to residence for the rich with no requirement for economic development for New Zealand, and removing the English language test for the rich but not for every day migrants, is not the Kiwi way. 

“The focus on wealthy visitors to New Zealand in the very same week the Government has figures showing Kiwi unemployment is at record highs is absolutely tone deaf.

“I’m surprised Winston Peters doesn’t have more to say about this. It flies in the face of what he has fought for decades,” Phil Twyford said.

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New Zealand has long been a member of the International Criminal Court, which impartially prosecutes serious war criminals for atrocities.

“The United States of America is attacking the ICC with sanctions and undermining its important and respected role as a prosecutor of war criminals,” Labour foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker said.

“It is one thing for the USA not to participate in the ICC. To go further and introduce sanctions to hinder the ability of the ICC doing its work for other countries is plainly wrong.

“In recent days, 79 countries have signed a statement condemning this. Those countries include Switzerland, Canada, France and Germany – countries we normally work closely with. New Zealand was notably absent.

“It is understandable that New Zealand does not want to criticise every decision made by President Trump.

“But our government won’t even speak up in the company of 79 others when an institution we are part of is threatened and undermined.

“Silence conveys consent.

“New Zealand’s reputation for being fair and principled is built on decades of important decisions like these – across successive governments.

“In its efforts to appease the new USA administration, New Zealand should not cravenly abandon its principles,” David Parker said.

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Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders.

“Margie Apa was a team player who worked hard to build a modern health system designed to serve everyone in Aotearoa New Zealand. She cares deeply for health outcomes and was focused on that in her role,” Labour’s acting health spokesperson Peeni Henare said.

“She helped put systems in place to close the gaps for Kiwis to access the healthcare they deserve. Whether it was mums-to-be in the furthest reaches of rural New Zealand, to those historically uncatered for in our cities. I want to thank Margie Apa for her work and wish her all the best in her next role.

“Fourteen months in Christopher Luxon’s Government has brought in chaotic changes to leadership: firing his first Health Minister and the Health New Zealand board, and now seeing off the chief executive.

“Soon he will run out of people to blame for his own failures in health.

“Changing leadership while fundamental issues of resourcing are unaddressed is taking the health system backwards.

“New Zealanders want to know they can access healthcare when they need it. This chaos at the top only shows the Prime Minister is failing to deliver that,” Peeni Henare said.

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The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%.

“The Government is continuing to take Māori backwards in every possible way,” Labour spokesperson for Māori Development Willie Jackson said.

“Christopher Luxon has no plan for Māori to support whanau into meaningful employment. The Prime Minister had every opportunity to front up to Māori at Waitangi to provide a positive plan for all of us to work together. Instead, he left it to David Seymour to speak and further divide our nation.

“The reality is, when National took power the Māori unemployment rate was 8.2%. They have had more than a year to deliver results, and instead we see rising unemployment, shocking health disparities, and tragic poverty rates,” Willie Jackson said.

Unemployment among Pacific People is now 10.5%, up from 6.1% when National took office. Across all groups, unemployment reached 5.1%—a four-year high.

“The Government’s failure to deliver real results for Pacific People is shameful and shows their complete lack of attention to this community,” Labour Pacific People’s spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said.

“That is a huge increase in Pacific unemployment, 1 in 10 Pacific people in New Zealand are now unemployed. This is bordering on a crisis for our people.

“Instead of supporting our people into work, this Government chooses to slash funding for frontline services, cut public sector jobs, and has left a total of 33,000 more people out of work,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

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