Written By:
- Date published:
10:51 am, September 1st, 2026 - 18 comments
Categories: election 2026, health, jobs, labour, workers' rights -
Tags: Health System, nurses
Press release from the NZ Labour Party yesterday.
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Labour will offer every New Zealand trained nurse a job in our public health system when they graduate, keeping our highly trained nurses here and strengthening the workforce.
“National’s hiring freeze is fuelling a crisis in our health system. Just 54 nurses have been hired in the last two years while patients and staff are paying the price every day,” Labour leader Chris Hipkins said.
“Graduate nurses are being trained here, but instead of starting their careers in New Zealand, too many are being forced to look overseas because National won’t give them a job.
“Our health system is in crisis, we can’t afford another three years of National,” Chris Hipkins said.
“Patients shouldn’t be left waiting in soiled beds. Nurses and doctors shouldn’t be forced to work in conditions they describe as an ‘absolute nightmare’ because they don’t have the staffing they were promised,” said Dr Ayesha Verrall.
“We will also fix the shortage of nurses in primary care by doubling the funding available through the current recruitment subsidy.
“We will increase the current rate for rural nurses from $20,000 to $40,000 and for nurses in urban areas from $15,000 to $30,000.
“Graduate nurses have invested years in their training. They deserve certainty that there will be a job waiting for them when they qualify.
“We need a strong and sustainable nursing workforce. Ensuring graduate nurses can progress into work is part of Labour’s plan to make healthcare more affordable, accessible and fit for the future.
“This is about giving graduates certainty, strengthening the workforce, and improving care for patients. Labour is backing our graduate nurses and investing in the future of healthcare,” Dr Ayesha Verrall said.
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Front page quote from Chris Hipkins on Facebook.
Great policy that could be expanded.
A start now can the entire opposition get stuck into what Brown/Reti/Levy and minions have done to NZH.
How about some accountability for the underfunding and outsourcing they never campaigned on last election.
+100 solid
On the face of it, good move. It needs to be done.
There will be questions re costs and of course, where is the money going to come from? Thus, what's the trade off?
Produce some good answers for those questions and it will get a lot of voter support Health is up there in voter concerns
https://www.labour.org.nz/graduate-nurse-job-guarantee
It’s so easy to find answers if only you can be bothered to put of a modicum of effort into it.
If that is the final year of the funding plan, how will it be funded going forward?
Further, what is the trade off?
Will Labour increase this funding in their health budget?
[link(s) required]
I see that you continue your antagonistic line of questioning without adding anything constructive, as per usual.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Budget%27s+Vote+Health+cost-pressure+funding+nz&oq=Budget%27s+Vote+Health+cost-pressure+funding+nz&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIJCAEQIRgKGKABMgkIAhAhGAoYoAHSAQg0NjAxajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&source=chrome.ob&ie=UTF-8
Perception is important. Questions should be welcomed.
Dumping a truckload of AI slop is a perception, one of a commenter who’s too lazy to put up a modicum of effort and rely on un-checked AI summaries. Mods take a dim view of this kind of behaviour here, so this is your warning.
Intent is key; negative & antagonistic lines of questioning without answers & solutions show an intent that could be perceived as concern trolling and bad faith commenting. You do very little to quell this perception and in fact, you have a ‘robust’ track record here of concern trolling.
Some of your questions cannot be fully answered here & now, at least not yet, which doesn’t diminish the intent of Labour’s policy even if/when it does involve new and/or different budget prioritisations in future. Such prioritisations may not be restricted to Budget Vote Health.
It wasn't unchecked
https://asms.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Health-Unions-Budget-Analysis-2026.pdf
Nor was it slop
The union researchers raised a vital point that the public should be aware of.
Better to have me question you on here than us seeing Hipkins struggle on TV
Of course, it was a dump of unchecked AI slop! Because you didn’t provide the sloppy link nor any primary source links. So, it’s slop until proven otherwise.
If those union researchers (who are they?) wrote what you quoted verbatim, then why did you not cite them directly (incl. the page numbers) instead of giving that sloppy link to that AI slop?
That’s an absurd statement that doesn’t validate your line of questioning here on this blog site nor helps Hipkins or Dr Ayesha Verrall when fielding interview questions on this policy – I’ve yet to see either struggle on TV regarding this policy, so it would seem that you’re a little too presumptuous.
Here’s your generalised take on just about any policy [from Labour or the Greens – there’s pattern]: it’s good policy, on the face of it, which needs to be done, but it’s not good policy because I can think of so many unanswered/unanswerable questions right now.
I later provided the direct link to the union research. It's in their Key facts at the top of the first page. I had closed the page but the AI page was still open, hence gave you that link in my haste
IMO you are far too concerned over some standard questions. It's good policy. But the questions are to be expected so don't freak out.
Questioning seems to be becoming a crime in this day and age but questioning is important so we need to support it hard not discourage it
If Labour aren't keeping an eye on what is being said online (especially when they release a new policy) they need to start doing so.
Helen Clark was said to have kept a remarkably close eye on public sentiment. Back in those days, it was stations like Radio Pacific and Newstalk ZB which she was said to have listened too.
yeah, don't do that. If you quote you have to cite at the same time. If it's AI, then provide teh AI sources at the same time as well (and check them first).
If we have to do that work, I'm more likely to just do an educational ban/moderation. The onus is on you to make your argument, back it up with references, and make sure those references are meaningful and accessible.
Will do, thanks.
cheers.
Yes but what is Hipkins policy on the price of mince?
Use 'bork' mince?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/life/food/have-you-heard-of-the-new-bork-mince
Dear Sanctuary
Anyone between the ages of 27 and 41, with a partner of the same age plus or minus 5 years (of whom both must be in full time work, or one in full time work and the other working more than 15 hours.week), a minimum of three children of whom all must be over 6 months of age and less than 20 years of age and not in full-time work or in less than 20 hours of part-time work cumulatively across all children, who are NZ citizens or permanent residents (unless one of them arrived on a Partner's Visa since 2017), will be entitled from January 2028 to a plastic "Mince Card".
The "Mince Card" will entitle each of them to at least 150g/month (provided it is not 'premium' grade mince) at 85% of the ticket price. This will save the estimated 211,000 families in this group between $3.41 and $11.97 per month. We are thinking seriously about the cost of living and this triumph of efficiently-targeted assistance will make a difference.
Thanks for your ongoing support.