BETRAYAL IS NOT A BUDGET STRATEGY

Despite the action of the government to undermine the frontline and impact New Zealands most vulnerable in need of care as well as the staff that care for them, NUPE continues to advocate. In Christchurch, we have initiated bargaining accross multiple organisations where we have membership. We will be renegotiating the collective agreement which includes a call for fair pay. Over the last years of bargaining, there has been a patient hope that the pay equity process would see a fir uplift however four years through that process, it was canned, with urgency, secrecy a clear signal that the government has renegged on its duty of care for New Zealands most down.

In early September 2025, NUPE is taking this fight on the road.The NUPE Mercy Mission will roll through Christchurch suburb by suburb, visiting the homes and workplaces where care workers keep our communities running.

We’re coming to see you.We’re coming to thank you.We’re coming to show those in power the human cost of their betrayal.

We’ll bring morning tea, hear your stories, and record your messages to send straight to the politicians who need to hear them. This is a campaign about being visible, being loud, and being unignorable.

GET INVOLVED IN THE CAMPAIGN :

Full Details At www.nupe.org.nz/FAIRPAY

NUPE views on Oranga Tamariki Military Styled Academy

At the heart of Aotearoa’s youth justice transformation lies a bold initiative born out of urgency and hope — the Military Style Academy (MSA), proudly piloted from Te Aurere, a site long regarded as a stronghold of traditional residential practice. Today, we celebrate its establishment and the early wins that reflect the strength of its kaupapa and the dedication of those who made it possible.

Best "Boot Camp" Ever

MSA isn’t just a programme — it’s a purposeful intervention that blends military-style structure with therapeutic care, cultural grounding, physical education, and community re-integration, tailored for some of our most high-needs rangatahi. From the outset, it sought to do more than manage behaviour. It aimed to rebuild identity, restore connection, and rekindle hope.

Designed for Change, Delivered with Purpose

NUPE represents many of the staff that were involved in the programme who provided positive feedback on the programme, how it was developed and delivered. These are experienced and dedicated practitioners with a personal commitment to the support and development of some of New Zealand’s most vulnerable and complex young people. For many, the programme reinforced their personal motivations for working in this sector and were invigorated as the programme provided a means to effectively deliver an intervention that they could see, works.

From the first cohort of 11 Māori rangatahi aged 15–17, MSA stood out in both design and delivery. Unlike standard youth justice residences, MSA provided:

• Two weeks of intensive training for kaimahi, held at the Trentham Military Base, grounding staff in military routines and the Good Lives Model (GLM) of rehabilitation.

• A multidisciplinary team that included clinical staff, cultural leads, social workers, and youth workers — all working side by side, on the floor, with rangatahi.

• Structured routines, physical training, and an unwavering focus on teamwork, role modelling, and boundaries that created a sense of safety and order.

• Cultural supervision and Mana Tāne programming, helping rangatahi reconnect with their whakapapa and Māori identity.

MSA kaimahi and stakeholders described the experience as a step forward from traditional youth justice models, citing the programme’s intensive, consistent, and respectful approach. And the rangatahi noticed — “We felt like the staff actually cared. They were there every day, doing it with us,” one participant shared.

NUPE highlights however that Youth Justice Residences, prior to the underinvestment and lack of support over successive organisational restructures were always designed and intended to have strong programming, strong training, supervision, cultural support and a multi-disciplinary team. It is a fundamental need that all residences are grounded in routine, whakawhanaungatanga and have explicit meaning and intention. It is our view that the MSA has reinvigorated elements that work, that again need to be rolled out across all residences as the standard for residential youth work.

Early Outcomes: Strength in Every Domain

The programme’s impact was framed around Te Whare Tapa Whā, and the preliminary evaluations show promising gains:

• Taha Wairua: Rangatahi re-engaged with te ao Māori, especially through noho marae, mau rākau, and cultural wānanga. They expressed more pride in who they are and where they come from.

• Taha Tinana: Regular physical education improved fitness, health, and confidence. Health conditions were addressed — sometimes for the first time.

• Taha Hinengaro: Clinical staff noticed rangatahi expressing themselves more clearly and resolving conflicts verbally. Emotional self-awareness grew significantly.

• Taha Whānau: Stronger relationships with family emerged. Some rangatahi encouraged their younger siblings to stay in school and help at home — a significant shift in mindset.

• Increased Safety: Notably, there were no physical altercations between rangatahi or with staff — a remarkable achievement compared to typical youth justice environments.

Seamless Transitions into the Community

Following the 12-week residential phase, rangatahi transitioned into the community supported by intensive mentorship and customised transition plans. This continuity of care proved invaluable. Transition from residential care to community has forever been a hot point in the justice journey. MSA transitional support has paved a foundation upon which if built upon will see the strongest reintegration seen since the inception of residential services.

Despite some participants returning to residence, the data showed that rangatahi spent significantly more time in the community than in any previous transition. Even where reoffending occurred, the severity and frequency was reduced, and rangatahi demonstrated growth in resilience and self-management. The intensity of this support must be built on and made the standard for all young people reintegrating from residences, it is the way forward.

For anyone with experience or awareness of delivery of intensive youth offending targeted interventions, you will know that it is difficult and dynamic work. It is critical work. The need for radical and inspired change in young people’s life is urgent due to that offending behaviour is so high risk not only for the community but for the young person at the centre of the programme. This programme has seen a robust intervention resourced and delivered with Oranga Tamariki committed to further resourcing and strengthening the programme.

New Zealand in on the right path with the current think tank. Long may they maintain their positions! (PS JOIN THE UNION)

Addressing the Critics: What the Naysayers Get Wrong

Despite these clear indicators of success, the MSA pilot faced sharp public criticism.

Opposition politicians, child advocacy groups, and some media outlets accused the programme of being punitive, outdated, and doomed to fail. Many have jumped on the bandwagon foolishly likening the programme to a facilitated child abuse camps. The Labour Party, Green Party, Te Pāti Māori, and the Children’s Commissioner were among those who labelled it "cruel," "heinous," and "a failed idea from the past." Headlines claimed the programme lacked military legitimacy due to the absence of NZDF staff and questioned the cost of supporting only a small cohort.

These critiques, however, fundamentally misunderstand the MSA model and show a disregard of any common sense and awareness of what works in terms of addressing youth offending.

Here’s why:

1. This is not a ‘boot camp’: Te Aurere's programme does not rely on punishment or drill sergeants. It is rooted in therapeutic care, restorative practice, and cultural identity-building. The military elements are limited to structured routines and physical training to promote teamwork and discipline, not coercion. Our members delivering the programme are professional youth workers committed to facilitating change and know, that this can only be achieved by creating a safe environment for healing and therapeutic care.

2. It works: Preliminary evaluation shows rangatahi experienced no violence, developed self-awareness, improved whānau relationships, and maintained longer community placements post-residence — with fewer and less severe offences. Our members were able to enjoy a safe working environment that was rewarding and invigorating, doing what they have committed their career pathways to.

3. Staff were not only trained — they were exceptional: Every kaimahi underwent intensive training, received supervision, and worked as part of a high-functioning multidisciplinary team. Clinical care and post-residential transition support were embedded into the programme. From a union perspective, we advocate for this for every member across all residences.

4. Culture is not an afterthought — it’s the heart: Tikanga lead practice was central to programme delivery. Noho marae, te reo Māori, mau rākau, and Mana Tāne were highlights. Rangatahi reconnected with their whakapapa and te ao Māori, which many identified as the most transformative part of the programme. This once the norm across residences signals a promising future for residential care.

5. The whānau connection was real: Parents reported significant positive changes. Some rangatahi became mentors to their siblings. This isn't failure — it's foundational change.

Final Word: Evidence Over Ideology : From our Practice Specialist.

Critics may remain attached to ideological positions. As a union we are critical of the un-informed comments made in media by some child advocates and other in the public arena. Many commentators lack any insight, any real and tangible evidence and are dangerously politicking with young people’s lives. Members who put themselves forward to deliver this programme did so with integrity and were attacked. Our focus is safety for our members who are committed to and work with these young people.

Te Aurere’s MSA pilot wasn’t a punitive throwback — it was an evidence-informed, culturally anchored, and trauma-responsive intervention. It reimagined care and responsibility for a group of rangatahi often written off. Staff were empowered. Whānau were included. Rangatahi were respected.

If we are serious about reducing youth reoffending, we must invest in what works — and MSA at Te Aurere is working.

NUPE seeks to acknowledge leadership that has progressed this programme and we advocate strongly that the positive elements of the programme are rolled out to other residences. These elements are the foundations of youth work practice. Routines, consistency, purpose. NUPE celebrates that staff were provided an opportunity to work in a safe environment, be supported and developed, to practice with purpose, a purpose that calls many individuals to work in residential services.

Commentary by NUPE – National Union of Public Employees.

Mathew Glanville – Subject Matter Expert

PG Process : Proposed Changes To Law

NUPE will be writing submissions on the proposed law changes.

The Test of Justification

The Test of Justification is focused on the Employer’s behaviour and actions. The question of whether a dismissal or an action was justified must be determined whether the Employer’s actions, and how the Employer acted, were what a fair and reasonable Employer could have done in all the circumstances at the time the dismissal or action occurred.

When applying the test, the courts examine the conduct and actions of the Employer only.

Proposed change

The courts will have to also consider if the Employee’s actions or behaviour interfered with or prevented the Employer from being able to conduct a fair process.

Such behaviour may include when an Employee does not attend meetings, refuses to respond, or is away sick for a length of time during a disciplinary process

Impact

The test of Justification is one of the core parts of the Employment Relations Act. It is what the courts rely on in determining if an action or dismissal is justified or not.

Employers are able to determine which processes and policies are followed, and make decisions about an Employee’s work that may impact on an Employee’s career opportunities and financial position.

Employers have the ability to monitor what an employee does, give instructions, provide training so that they have a work force that operates in the manner that they find acceptable. An Employee has to work within the Employer’s systems and expectations.

As the Employer does have a high degree of control and power in the employment relationship, the test of justification is a way to ensure this power is not used in a way that is unfair to the Employee. The proposed changes to this test means the courts in applying this test must take into account the Employee’s behaviour, actions and conduct regardless of how bad the flaws may be in an Employer’s process.

With these changes it may be considered fair and reasonable for a dismissal to be justified even if an Employer has undertaken a flawed or incomplete process as long as the Employer proves that an Employee has been obstructive in some manner which interferes with an Employer’s procedures.

The proposed changes do not identify what behaviours would be considered obstructive. This is likely to be determined on a case by case basis.

Advice

Unions have developed a unique employment relationship with the Employer as they have to interact with each other in good faith on many different matters.

This means a Union is in a good position keep the Employer operating to agreed processes, policies and procedures

This provides safeguards for an Employee in that they are less likely to be subject to faulty or inadequate procedures and policies. In any situation where an Employee believe their job is under threat, they should seek employment advice and consider having someone assist in representing them.

Disclaimer: these are opinions and views of NUPE and should not be substituted for legal advice. If this article has raised any questions or concerns please contact us directly

Public submissions are now being called for the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2025

The closing date for submissions is 2.00pm on Wednesday, 13 August 2025