Why I’m standing for NZNO President

I am one of you.  As a practising nurse, I know the realities for members delivering care in the community and at the bedside.  I experience the pressures of unsafe staffing, low pay and unfair treatment at work. But I know that together, we’re strong enough collectively to change all that.

I’m standing for President to inject new energy into NZNO.

I will speak up for members seeking to be respected, valued and given the resources needed to do the job. And I will keep NZNO focused on tackling the distressing health inequalities we see daily in our practice.

As your next President, I will accept only my current Staff Nurse pay rate. NZNO members work hard for their money, and there are better uses for the dues you pay than a six-figure presidential salary.

I will bring the passion born of decades of activism, coupled with the prudent stewardship shown in governance roles within NZNO and in the wider health sector.

Too often, professional issues in nursing are viewed separately from industrial realities. And our common cause as nurses, midwives and healthworkers can get lost.

I bring all-round experience, having served at the highest level in both the industrial and professional wings of our union. I have  been active in NZNO’s Aged Care, Primary Health and Private Hospital Sectors, as well as heading the National Delegates Committee for the DHBs. This year, DHB Sector members have shown their trust in me, electing me onto the team negotiating the MECA for all 26,000 of us.

I also bring a proven track record in governance. From my role in leading the efforts to make our Constitution more democratic, to my present role as Membership Committee Vice-Chair, I have worked to make NZNO more responsive to members. I have chaired my NZNO Regional Council, served on NZNO’s Board of Directors and I now represent the Council of Trade Unions on the Board of the Newtown Union Health Service.

In 2013, I was honoured to be the only North Island candidate in the DHB elections to receive NZNO endorsement.

No one person can embody all the rich diversity of our membership. But as a professional, I know when I’ve reached the limits of my own knowledge and experience, and when I need to listen to others. In this way, I will also strengthen NZNO’s bicultural partnership.

I pledge to:

• Be accessible to members. I will be available to you, in person in your locality or via email and social media.
• Make your issues visible. I have the credibility and the media skills to get nursing onto the agenda for decision-makers, and for the public they’re accountable to.

This election is about your choice, your voice. Use your vote to elect Grant Brookes as your NZNO President.

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Te take e tū ana ahau hei Perehitini mō NZNO

Ko ahau tētahi o koutou.  He nēhi ahau, nō reira e mōhio mārika ana tēnei ki ngā āhuatanga katoa o ngā mema e mahi tahi ana me ngā hapori, ki ngā taha moenga tūroro hoki.  Kua waia ahau ki ngā pēhitanga, ki ngā utu koretake, ā, ki ngā mahi tūkino e pā mai ana ki a tātou ngā nēhi.  Engari e mōhio ana ahau, mā te mahi tahi ka taea e tātou te piki i ngā taumata angitu.

E tū ana ahau hei Perehitini kia whakakahangia te NZNO me tētahi riaka hou.

He māngai ahau mō ngā mema e whai ana i tēnei mea te mana me te ihi i roto i a tātou mahi, ā, kia riro i a tātou ngā rauemi katoa kia rangatira ai te mahi nēhi.  Ā, ka aro tōtika te titiro a NZNO ki ngā rongoā whakaora ai i ngā raruraru hauora ka kite atu i roto i a tātou mahi, ia rā, ia wā.

Mei ka tū hei Perehitini, ka whakaae ahau ki te utu nēhi anahe.  He pukumahi ngā mema NZNO nō reira he maha atu ngā kaupapa pai ake hei utua ka tika, atu i te utu nui o te Perehitini.

Ka mau mai ahau āku hiahia, āku mahi katoa i whānau mai i ngā tekau tau ki muri, āku mahi kāwanatanga i roto i te NZNO, ā, i roto hoki i te rāngai hauora whānui.

I te nuinga o te wā, ka titiro wehenga rua ngā tikanga ngaio ki ngā ahumahi o te nēhi.  Ā, ka ngaro atu tā tātou kaupapa kotahi, nēhi mai, kaiwhakawhānau mai, ā, kaimahi hauora mai.

Ka mau mai ahau āku wheako katoa mai i āku tūnga ahumahi, ngaio hoki i mahia e au kei ngā taumata teitei o te uniana.  He tangata pukumahi ahau i roto i ngā wāhanga e toru o NZNO, arā te Tiaki Kaumātua, Hauora Matua, Hauora Motuhake, ā, me taku tūnga whakahaere i te Kōmiti Taraketi ā-Motu mō ngā DHB.  I tēnei tau, i waimārie au nā te mea i tohua ahau e ngā mema o te rāngai DHB ki runga i te rōpū whakahaere te MECA mō ngā mema nēhi 26,000.

Ā, ka mau mai anō ahau āku pūkenga, āku mahi kāwanatanga.  Mai i āku mahi whakamanapori mō tā tātou ture kāwanatanga ki taku tūnga ināianei, arā te Heamana-tuarua o te Kōmiti Mematanga, ā, ka mahia e au kia whakararata a NZNO ki ōna ake mema.  I tū ahau hei Heamana mō taku NZNO Kaunihera ā-Rohe, i noho i runga i te NZNO Poari mō ngā Kaitohu, ā, ināianei ko ahau te māngai mō Te Kauae Kaimahi i runga i te Poari, Newtown Union Health Service.

I te tau 2013, nōku anō te hōnore ko ahau anahe o ngā kaitono o Te Ika-a-Māui i whiwhia i te tautoko a NZNO mō ngā kōwhiringa DHB.

E kore taea te tangata kotahi ki te whakatinanatia i ngā momo katoa o ā tātou mema.  Engari e mōhio mārika ana he aha āku pūkenga me āku wheako, ā, e mōhio hoki ana āhea ahau ka whakarongona ki ētahi atu.  Nā reira, ka taea e au te āwhina atu i te NZNO me tōna kaupapa tikanga rua a te tāngata Māori me te Pākehā.

Nāku ēnei kupu taurangi:

• kia wātea ahau ki ngā mema katoa kei tō ake takiwā, kei runga īmēra raini, ā, kei te pae pāpāho pāpori hoki.
• kia puta ai o tātou kaupapa nēhi i te pō ki te whaiao, ki Te Ao Mārama.

He kōwhiringa tēnei mōu nō reira kei a koe te tikanga, kei a koe tō ake reo.  Ā, whakamahia i tō pōti kia tū ai a Grant Brookes hei Perehitini mō NZNO.

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Previous relevant experience/Āku mahi, āku tūranga, āku wheako hoki

DHB MECA Negotiating Team (2014-present)

Membership Committee: Greater Wellington Region rep & Vice-Chair (2014-present)

Mental Health Nurses Section: Committee Member & Journal Co-editor (2014-present)

Newtown Union Health Service: Board Member (2013-present)

DHB National Delegates Committee: CCDHB rep & Convenor (2008-present)

NZNO-endorsed candidate for CCDHB (2013)

NZNO Board of Directors (2012-13)

NZNO Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair (2010-13)

NZNO Relief Organiser (2010)

NZNO Workplace delegate (2002-present)