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The Public Service Association (PSA) is questioning the Government’s claim that artificial intelligence can replace thousands of public service workers, saying New Zealanders remain unconvinced that technology can deliver the same level of public service.

The union says a majority of New Zealanders reject the idea that AI can replace the work currently carried out by public servants, arguing there is little publicly available evidence to support suggestions that as many as 9,000 public sector roles could be eliminated through increased use of artificial intelligence.

The PSA is calling on the Government to explain the evidence behind its plans, saying New Zealanders deserve greater transparency about how decisions affecting the public service are being made.

According to the union, large-scale job cuts risk reducing the quality and accessibility of frontline public services, with concerns that fewer staff could lead to longer waiting times, reduced support for vulnerable communities and increased pressure on the remaining workforce.

The PSA says artificial intelligence has the potential to improve productivity and assist public servants, but argues it should complement workers rather than replace them, particularly in roles that rely on professional judgement, public trust and direct engagement with communities.

The concerns come as the union launches an election campaign aimed at influencing the outcome of the 2026 General Election.

The PSA says the campaign is focused on protecting quality public services and ensuring future governments invest in a capable public sector that can respond to the needs of New Zealanders.

Among the union’s priorities are rebuilding public services after recent job losses, strengthening healthcare and education, addressing the cost-of-living pressures facing working families, supporting fair employment conditions, and ensuring greater investment in essential public infrastructure and services.

The PSA argues these issues will be critical in determining the future of the public service and the quality of services available to communities across Aotearoa.

The Government has maintained that adopting new technologies, including artificial intelligence, can improve efficiency across the public sector while helping deliver better value for taxpayers.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #PSA #PublicService #ArtificialIntelligence #AI #PublicSector #NZPolitics #Election2026 #Jobs #PublicServices #Healthcare #Education #Workers #Economy #Aotearoa #NewZealand #Government #FutureOfWork #Technology #Union

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Green Party MP Teanau Tuiono says proposed changes to workplace health and safety laws and conservation legislation risk weakening protections that New Zealanders fought hard to secure following major national tragedies.

As the Green Party spokesperson for public services and workplace relations, Tuiono is expected to challenge the Government’s proposed Health and Safety at Work Amendment Bill, arguing that any reforms must preserve the protections introduced after the Pike River Mine disaster.

The Government says the proposed changes are intended to simplify health and safety requirements, particularly for small and low-risk businesses, by reducing unnecessary compliance while maintaining strong protections for workers.

However, critics argue the reforms could undermine lessons learned from Pike River by reducing employer responsibilities and weakening the culture of workplace safety established under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.

Tuiono is expected to argue that improving productivity should never come at the expense of worker safety, and that robust health and safety laws remain essential to preventing future workplace deaths and serious injuries.

The Green Party also remains strongly opposed to changes proposed in the Conservation Amendment Bill, often referred to as the “Bits and Bobs” Bill.

Although the Government has recently removed controversial provisions allowing the disposal or exchange of public conservation land following widespread public opposition, the Greens say other aspects of the legislation still place greater emphasis on economic considerations in the management of public conservation land.

The party argues the Department of Conservation’s primary responsibility should remain the protection of biodiversity, native species and ecosystems, rather than facilitating commercial opportunities.

The Greens are also seeking stronger safeguards to ensure conservation land cannot be disposed of without rigorous public scrutiny, robust environmental assessments and meaningful engagement with mana whenua.

The debate comes amid wider concerns about balancing economic development with environmental protection, as the Government pursues policies aimed at accelerating infrastructure, mining and resource development across New Zealand.

The Green Party says workplace safety and environmental protection should remain fundamental responsibilities of government and should not be weakened in pursuit of economic growth.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #GreenParty #TeanauTuiono #HealthAndSafety #PikeRiver #WorkplaceSafety #Conservation #DOC #PublicLand #Environment #NZPolitics #WorkersRights #Biodiversity #TeTaiao #ManaWhenua #Aotearoa #NewZealand #ConservationBill #HealthAndSafetyAtWork #PublicServices

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Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi is questioning the Government’s priorities, saying ministers are focused on culture-war debates while serious threats remain for Māori workers, whānau, whenua and taonga.

Waititi says political debate over definitions of a man and a woman does nothing to address the real pressures facing whānau, including unsafe workplaces, attacks on conservation land and the growing misuse of artificial intelligence.

He says changes to health and safety legislation must be judged against the reality that young men, including many Māori, continue to be killed and injured in dangerous industries such as forestry.

Te Pāti Māori is expected to push back against any reform that weakens worker protections, warning that lessons from workplace tragedies must not be watered down in the name of reducing compliance for business.

Waititi is also taking aim at the Conservation Amendment Bill, known as the Bits and Bobs Bill, saying the Government’s approach treats whenua and taiao as an economic asset rather than a living inheritance.

He says Māori have never seen conservation land as waste land, and any proposal affecting public conservation land must uphold Te Tiriti, mana whenua rights and the protection of biodiversity for future generations.

The party is also raising concerns about artificial intelligence, after a disturbing case reported on Marae involving a Tairāwhiti whānau whose images were allegedly used on an AI-generated pornography site.

Waititi says Māori cultural property is also at risk, with concerns that Māori music, language, imagery and mātauranga are being scraped by AI systems and repackaged without consent, attribution or benefit to the people and communities they come from.

Te Pāti Māori says stronger protections are needed for personal identity, cultural intellectual property, whakapapa, reo, waiata, moko, mātauranga and other taonga in the digital age.

Waititi says the issue is about mana, consent and tino rangatiratanga, and the law must catch up before more whānau and cultural taonga are exploited.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #RawiriWaititi #TePātiMāori #MāoriPolitics #TeTiriti #TinoRangatiratanga #HealthAndSafety #Forestry #WorkersRights #Conservation #Taiao #Whenua #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #CulturalIP #MāoriDataSovereignty #MātaurangaMāori #Aotearoa #NZPolitics #ManaWhenua

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University of Auckland – Waipapa Taumata Rau PhD student Ebony Komene is taking Māori nursing research onto the international stage after receiving the prestigious 2026 Fulbright–Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Graduate Award.

Komene, who affiliates to Ngāpuhi, Te Arawa and Tainui, will travel to the United States to continue research exploring the role of Indigenous Nurse Practitioners and how Indigenous models of healthcare can improve health outcomes for Indigenous communities.

Her research focuses on an area that remains under-explored despite the growing importance of Indigenous-led healthcare. By examining Indigenous nursing practice, Komene hopes to identify approaches that strengthen culturally grounded care while supporting greater equity across health systems.

As part of the Fulbright programme, Komene will undertake research at Washington State University and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she will engage with Indigenous nursing scholars, practitioners and communities.

The international experience will provide an opportunity to compare Indigenous models of care across different countries, exploring how shared values, traditional knowledge and community-led health services can contribute to better wellbeing for Indigenous peoples.

Central to Komene’s approach is the kaupapa of reciprocity and manaakitanga. Rather than simply gathering information, her research aims to build enduring relationships based on mutual respect, knowledge sharing and collaboration between Indigenous communities.

She hopes the connections formed through the Fulbright programme will create opportunities for ongoing partnerships that benefit both Māori and other Indigenous peoples long after the research exchange has concluded.

Komene says Indigenous health challenges are often shared across nations, making international collaboration an important way of developing innovative solutions while recognising the unique strengths of Indigenous knowledge systems.

Looking ahead, she hopes the research will contribute to strengthening the Indigenous Nurse Practitioner workforce in Aotearoa and support health systems that place culture, whānau and community at the centre of care.

The Fulbright–Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Graduate Award recognises emerging Māori researchers whose work has the potential to make a significant contribution to Indigenous scholarship, leadership and wellbeing both nationally and internationally.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #EbonyKomene #Fulbright #NgāPaeoTeMāramatanga #MāoriHealth #IndigenousHealth #Nursing #NursePractitioner #WaipapaTaumataRau #UniversityOfAuckland #WhānauOra #Manaakitanga #IndigenousResearch #HealthEquity #MāoriResearch #Aotearoa #Ngāpuhi #TeArawa #Tainui #GlobalIndigenousHealth

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Award-winning filmmaker Julian Arahanga is celebrating international recognition after his documentary The Stolen Children of Aotearoa won Best Indigenous Feature at the Wailuku Film Festival in Maui, Hawaii.

The award recognises the powerful documentary’s contribution to Indigenous storytelling and its unflinching examination of the abuse, trauma and lifelong impacts experienced by children placed in state care in Aotearoa.

The film gives voice to survivors whose experiences include abuse, separation from whānau, loss of whakapapa and enduring intergenerational trauma, while highlighting the disproportionate impact state care has had on Māori.

For Arahanga, the recognition is another milestone in bringing an important kaupapa to international audiences and ensuring the experiences of survivors are acknowledged beyond New Zealand.

The documentary was born from a desire to tell the stories of those who had too often been ignored or silenced, placing survivors at the centre of the narrative while examining the systemic failures that allowed abuse to occur over decades.

Rather than focusing solely on institutions, the film explores the human cost of state care through the voices of those who lived through it, revealing the long-term effects on identity, whānau connections and wellbeing.

Since its release, The Stolen Children of Aotearoa has generated widespread discussion across Aotearoa, with audiences describing the documentary as confronting, emotional and essential viewing.

Many survivors have also spoken about the importance of seeing their experiences recognised on screen, with the film contributing to broader conversations around truth-telling, healing and accountability.

The documentary follows the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which found that hundreds of thousands of children, young people and vulnerable adults experienced abuse and neglect while in the care of the state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 2019.

Māori were among those disproportionately affected, with many children removed from their whānau, culture and language, leaving lasting impacts that continue to be felt across generations.

Arahanga hopes the film continues to encourage meaningful change by keeping public attention on the experiences of survivors and reinforcing the need for accountability, justice and reforms that ensure future generations of tamariki are protected.

The international award also highlights the growing recognition of Indigenous filmmakers whose stories address difficult histories while celebrating resilience, truth and the strength of Indigenous communities.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #JulianArahanga #TheStolenChildrenOfAotearoa #AbuseInCare #StateCare #Māori #Whakapapa #Survivors #TruthTelling #Justice #Healing #IndigenousFilm #Documentary #WailukuFilmFestival #Aotearoa #RoyalCommission #Tamariki #Whānau #TeAoMāori #IndigenousVoices

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Auckland’s city centre is being transformed into a glowing celebration of te ao Māori, storytelling and shared history through Matariki ki te Manawa.

The free winter festival runs from 15 June to 21 July 2026, bringing illuminated art, live performance, digital storytelling and augmented reality experiences into the streets, squares and waterfront of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Festival spokesperson Ataahua Papa says Matariki ki te Manawa invites whānau, visitors and city workers to explore the city in a new way, following trails of light, sound and story across key locations including Queen Street, Aotea Square, the waterfront and Karangahape Road.

The programme is designed as an open and inclusive experience, allowing people to move through the festival at their own pace while engaging with artworks grounded in tikanga, mātauranga Māori and the stories of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Organisers say the location of the festival is central to its kaupapa. Each site carries layers of history, connection and memory, with the artworks helping bring those stories to life in the modern cityscape.

Alongside large-scale light installations, the festival includes performance, interactive experiences and digital works that use augmented reality to connect audiences with Māori narratives in fresh and accessible ways.

Papa says the aim is for people to leave with a deeper understanding of Matariki, not only as a time of celebration, but as a season of remembrance, reflection, renewal and connection.

Matariki ki te Manawa also offers a chance for Aucklanders to reconnect with the city centre during winter, turning public spaces into places of gathering, learning and wonder.

With events spread across more than a month, organisers are encouraging people to check the programme, plan a night out with whānau, and experience the city through the lens of Matariki.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #Matariki #MatarikiKiTeManawa #TāmakiMakaurau #Auckland #TeAoMāori #MātaurangaMāori #TikangaMāori #AucklandEvents #FreeEvents #WinterFestival #MāoriArt #LightFestival #Whānau #AoteaSquare #QueenStreet #KarangahapeRoad #Waterfront #Aotearoa #Matariki2026

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An aggressive marine pest is continuing to spread across the upper North Island, prompting renewed warnings for boaties, fishers and divers to help stop its advance.

Exotic caulerpa, an invasive seaweed first detected in New Zealand in 2021, is establishing itself in coastal waters where it forms dense underwater mats that smother native marine life, damage habitats and threaten the health of entire ecosystems.

The seaweed has now been found in several locations, including Aotea (Great Barrier Island), Ahuahu (Great Mercury Island), the Bay of Islands, Kawau Island, Waiheke Island and Whangārei Harbour.

Biosecurity New Zealand has classified exotic caulerpa as an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act, with strict controls now in place to slow its spread.

Controlled Area Notices apply in several affected locations, restricting or prohibiting activities such as anchoring, fishing and diving in areas where the seaweed has become established.

Authorities say even tiny fragments can break away from anchors, chains, fishing gear or dive equipment and establish new infestations elsewhere.

Boaties and recreational fishers are being urged to inspect anchors, anchor chains, ropes and fishing gear before leaving the water. Any seaweed found should be removed carefully, sealed in a bag and disposed of in a rubbish bin on land.

People are also being reminded never to throw removed seaweed back into the ocean, as this can contribute to further spread.

Communities are encouraged to stay informed about local rāhui and biosecurity restrictions before heading onto the water, particularly in northern coastal areas where new detections remain possible.

Officials say protecting New Zealand’s marine environment will require cooperation from everyone using the coast, with early detection and responsible boating practices playing a critical role in preventing further damage.

Interactive maps showing current infestation areas and Controlled Area Notices are available through Biosecurity New Zealand’s Marine Pests resources and the Conquer Caulerpa information website.

#Tags

#RadioWaatea #ExoticCaulerpa #Biosecurity #MarinePests #OceanProtection #Moana #Aotearoa #GreatBarrierIsland #BayOfIslands #Waiheke #KawauIsland #WhangāreiHarbour #Fishing #Boating #Conservation #MarineLife #ProtectOurMoana #Environment #Northland #NewZealand

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