Mayday from Auckland Hospital

Standing up to underfunding and moves towards privatisation.

M-A-Y-D-A-Y
Mayday, mayday
M-A-Y-D-A-Y
Mayday, mayday

And so the days go on and on
And I don't know if I can carry on much longer
I just need a sign
Anything honey, just give me a sign

Songwriter: Ian Parton.

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The rain was heavy just after nine thirty this morning, and I thought, “Hmm, maybe this isn’t the best day for a protest.” Moments later, the clouds parted—such is the nature of Tamaki Makaurau. Right, I thought, there’s no better time; seize the day. You’ll be pleased you went, and with the health sector in crisis, the perfect moment to protest is undoubtedly now.

Arriving early, there was a small crowd, sporadic rainfall, and a lot of wind. I spoke to Craig from the Nurses Union and chatted about the various groups protesting.

Craig mentions Section 26 stop work meetings, which can legally be called twice annually. While holding them, they must operate in good faith by maintaining services.

He said that of 370 nurses in the building, management had said only nine could be released, which doesn’t make for much of a quorum. So they’re striking, and wanting to minimise disruption, have done so simultaneously with the surgeons.

Further down the road, I ran into a couple of folks I’ve had a bit of contact with, but had never met—Kathrine, who is involved in protests about Gaza and was handing out leaflets about medics there. You might remember her from a newsletter I wrote at the start of the year about a protest over an Israeli tennis competitor, just the other side of the domain from the hospital, at the tennis courts.

Katherine and I, and David and I. It was pretty windy.

I also ran into David, who has generously shared my newsletters in the Asia Pacific Report he co-founded.

Next up was Dr Dean from Manukau. I asked him why he was protesting today.

We continued talking, and Dr Dean said things have been under-resourced for decades, but then they were really under the gun with Covid.

Even though the pandemic is now history in the eyes of some, catch-up was still required, and he said that this government wants to get blood from a turnip. Which is not a phrase I’d heard before, but I quite like it.

He succinctly said, “The government’s priorities are not the public and the public’s healthcare.”

Don’t you think that should be? That one’s aimed at you, not the good Doctor.

He said, “They’ve created the problem, and we’re here to point it out.”

Given the weather, the crowd had grown to a respectable size, and, like this government, the day was alternating between mediocre and lousy.

Speeches began. We were told this was historic industrial action, with events around the country, including at the four Auckland hospitals, and workers represented by E tū, who were rightly described as essential to the health system.

One speaker said, “When they say that clinical work is not affected, they are lying”. Another, “Things that are hazardous, like falling shelves, are not being fixed; the money is not being spent where it’s needed.”

Along with despair, these medical professionals who have trained and worked hard to help people also expressed anger. One saying, “The coalition has been accusing the healthcare sector of wasteful spending. Shame on them.”

As much as it is abhorrent that we’re not providing the funds required, I find it particularly distasteful that Health Minister Simeon Brown has chosen to point fingers and blame at our, quite frankly, heroic health care professionals, lacking the courage to face up to the issues in the sector honestly. Shame, indeed.

My apologies for not catching everyone’s names, having met quite a few readers of this kōrero. Including Jeff, seen here with Labour’s Camilla Belich. They’d worked together some years back, I assume, in the union movement.

We moved to other groups in the health sector, and if you think things are tough for those working there, they are awful for students. Many are dropping out, including a disproportionate number of Maori and Pasifika students. Then, at the end of studies, there is no job for people like graduating nurses, despite the urgent need for them.

Students have to be available for shifts of up to 12 hours with little notice, making it impossible to work another job and earn the money to live.

We heard from care and support workers who had long hours of backbreaking work but saw their income sliding back towards the minimum wage.

Listening to these good folks and appreciating the importance of health care to all of us, it is hard to believe that our government is making cuts to a system that was already short on resources. It’s difficult not to see this as a forerunner to when they announce privatisation as the only thing that can save the health system.

But that is a lie.

We are a wealthy country, and we can prioritise healthcare over numerous other things, like landlords, the military, or roads. We can even borrow to build long-term infrastructure, so we have the capacity and facilities we need. It’s all down to choices, and much as I wish this government would listen, it’s pretty clear they prefer those other things.

That was a message repeated by several speakers, and there’s no two ways about it. If we want to prioritise funding for our health sector so that people can get the care they need, there is only one thing for it. You’ve got to vote the buggers out.

I’m reluctant to say your life depends on it, but it might.

To finish, here’s the speech given by Labour’s Camilla Belich. Apologies, it’s pretty blustery and there are a few toots - there were lots of those today.

Thank you for reading today. This edition is open to everyone, so feel free to share if you’d like, and if you can spare a couple of dollars a week to subscribe, please do - that would be fantastic. 🙂

To end, here are The Go! Team with Mayday.