BRIEF 

Period poverty in Tāmaki Makaurau 

• Period poverty is a critical issue in Tāmaki Makaurau affecting thousands of menstruators across the region who struggle to access basic hygiene products.
• The Period Place distributes donated period products to community groups working with low-income families who frequently report stories of menstruators who must choose between buying food or period products, often resorting to makeshift solutions that are unhygienic, unsafe, and damaging to their dignity and well-being.
• People unable to afford period products have reduced ability to participate in their community, which negatively impacts mental and physical health.
• An August 2024 survey of menstruators across Aotearoa, with a 35% representation from Tāmaki, showed that:
  • 20% have needed to rely on accessing products from friends, community groups and workplaces because they could not afford them.
  • 39% say their period causes financial anxiety/stress.
  • 31% have had to use makeshift products.
  • 32% have experienced a period where they couldn’t afford necessary period products.
  • 48% have worried about how they will access period products outside the home if they run out.
  • 91% have worried about leakage of blood through to outer clothes.
  • 96% are unable to change period products when they want to outside of the home.

Gaps in the current system

• While the central government period products in schools programme has made significant strides in addressing this problem for young people, it only solves part of the issue as it stops at the school gate.
• This leaves large numbers of menstruators in communities without access to products.
• The Period Place receives regular requests for donated products from Auckland Council facilities, such as Studio One, and users of these facilities, including Netball Manurewa and CLM Community Sports Impact and faith groups.

Community need 

• Auckland’s community and sports facilities serve a diverse population, including women, transgender men, non-binary people, and individuals experiencing homelessness or financial hardship.
• Many of these people do not have reliable access to period products, which perpetuates cycles of poverty and shame.
• There is a unique opportunity to address this unmet need by ensuring that period products are available in all community and sports facilities across the city.
• This would be a vital step toward achieving menstrual equity, promoting health and hygiene, and enabling full participation in community life—regardless of gender or economic status.

Community engagement and findings 

• After meetings with key organisations including CCS Disability Action, Netball Manurewa, ActionStation, Rainbow Youth, Grandparents Raising Grandkids), there is a shared concern about the lack of access to period products in public facilities.
• Upcoming meetings are planned with Sisters United and CLM Community Sport.
• Te Ohu member organisations, Communities Feeding Communities, Belong Aotearoa, Pacific Women’s Watch, and the Māori Women’s Welfare League, have expressed interest in addressing this issue.
• Ensuring period products are available in all community and sports facilities would be a crucial step towards menstrual equity in Auckland, promoting health and hygiene, and enabling full community participation. 

Key objectives 

• Provide a platform for underrepresented voices including low-income families, transgender men, non-binary people, and those experiencing homelessness to share their experiences.
• Offer insights into the nuances of period poverty across different demographics and communities.
• Inform the design of targeted solutions for sports, cultural, faith-based, and community groups.
• Foster a sense of ownership in the communities, increasing participation and support for initiatives.
• Guide resource allocation to ensure period products are available in facilities where they will have the greatest impact. 

Other member organisations and leaders that are interested in signing on to this listening campaign can register their interest by contacting Kate Palmer at [email protected]

BRIEF

• The healthcare system has been chronically underfunded and unsupported for a number of years. The 2024 Government Budget not only continued this trend but deepened the issue, with hiring freezes across our hospitals and a continued funding shortfall in aged care.
• Those working in healthcare, particularly nurses, healthcare assistants, and care and support workers often bear the initial brunt of these cuts in the form of wages that don’t recognise the value of the work, don’t keep up with the cost of living and often subject workers to long hours, and mental and physical harm.
• The impact of this on the wider community is felt in long wait times for care, financial, physical and mental stress, difficulty accessing care for family members, and worse health outcomes.
• These impacts have been well documented within certain organisations, in particular Te Ohu member organisations NZNO and E tū, who have decided that we cannot keep campaigning in the health system in siloes and must build a platform for the health system we want across civil society and communities.
• This also links into conversations and meetings that have been held in the Decent Work Committee in previous years within Te Ohu, where care workers have shared their experiences of the system. Decent Work remains a pillar of Te Ohu’s focus, even though it has not been active in recent months.
• Conversations have also been held informally with the PSA and ASMS.
• This listening campaign will consist of table talks, worksite meetings, relational meetings, and other culturally relevant forms of meeting for our community.
• The healthcare system is big - it will take time to understand the issues facing our communities. We propose at least 1 year of a listening campaign, with issues being identified along the way as well as potential actions, towards a healthcare system platform that can be proposed in 2026 at the general election, and a multi year strategy to realise this platform.
• As well as this, we hope to identify new worker, faith and community leaders who can champion a proactive vision for the health system, and to build relationships across these leaders, their respective communities, and support them into leadership.
• As well as this, there are organisational benefits to Te Ohu Tāmaki as well:
  • Potential new member organisations who are interested in supporting this kaupapa.
  • A broadening of our position from “that housing group” towards a true multi-issue alliance.
  • Reaching out into new communities whose interest aligns with the housing system.
  • Building new leaders.
  • Putting Te Ohu at the forefront of community voice and advocacy for workers in the health system, as we have begun to do in housing.

It's time to fix employment in our health and care system. We are launching a 1 year listening campaign on Decent Work in the Health and Care system. It will begin with workers themselves and their stories, and building these workers into effective representatives and leaders. Then they will take the reins of listening and education into the wider community to build consensus around systemic changes for their sector.

The housing catastrophe in Auckland is one of our first issues of focus. Our member organisations are united in their support for the initiatives listed below. 

We stand in solidarity with all those who are suffering through the housing crisis in Tāmaki Makaurau and we are committed to working for positive, lasting change. 

What is the Right to a Decent Home

Everybody in Aotearoa has the Right to a Decent Home. A “decent Home” is defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Human Rights Commission through seven decency principles. A decent home is:

• Affordable

• • • Our homes should cost no more than 30% of a household's income

• Habitable

• • • Meaning it is healthy and doesn’t make you sick!
  • Accessible for everyone
    • This includes, but is not limited to, people with mobility issues have access to a home.
  • Secure in tenure
    • If you can be kicked out of your rental at any time, or interest rates changes can easily tip you over the edge, you are not in a secure home.
  • In an appropriate Location.
    • Our homes should have access to social facilities such as supermarkets, transport routes, schools, employment, healthcare, and marae. 
  • Having access to Core Services
    • Power, water, other vital infrastructure.

• Culturally Adequate

• • Cultures and communities of multi-generational families deserve a home too.

The Right also includes;

• Active Participation
  • “Our coordination group” gives life to this.
• Informed Policymaking

In Aotearoa, the Right to a Decent Home must also be grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

What a fantastic, energizing, invigorating, recharging Leaders’ Retreat it was. The Leaders’ Retreat was held at Te Kamaka Marae in Northcote and we were welcomed with a pōwhiri and a karakia from Dr. Pouroto followed by morning tea and then straight into whanaungatanga. 

The retreat was a time to reconnect and for those that were new, connect and meet new acquaintances. Majority of our member organisations were present and it allowed the day to flow through smoothly. 

Knowing our why, planning together and making commitments in solidarity is why Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga Tāmaki Makaurau exists. It is your space to work in unison to address the causes of poverty in our communities so we can all flourish.

What a day to remember for the Avondale community, coming together to stand up for their community so that the “backroom deals” are brought to light and the community gets a seat at the table to have a say. The future of the Avondale Racecourse must be decided by the community, not corporate lobbyists.

I Love Avondale as a member of Te Ohu Tāmaki, we stand with you in this fight. What a sight to witness for the Public and Planning Committee at Town Hall.

Te Ohu Leaders' Retreat 2025
Posted by Noah Tuita · March 06, 2025 2:18 PM

Avondale Racecourse
Posted by Noah Tuita · March 06, 2025 11:37 AM

Organise for Te Tiriti
Posted by Noah Tuita · November 20, 2024 12:56 PM

PC: Asif Ahmad from ASST

A Night to remember. On the 19th of November, 2024 the government announced that the submissions for the Treaty Principles Bill was now open. On the same day, Te Ohu Whakawhanaunga Tāmaki Makaurau came together to take action against the Treaty Principles Bill.

With 260 people gathered in St. Matthew-in-the-City standing up against this divisive bill that undermines and overwrites the relationship that has been build between tangata whenua and the crown.

A successful 5-Day Training with a wonderful turnout in collaboration with Living Wage. 

 We had 28 trainees altogether with five trainers and throughout the week everyone started to share more and more about how this training have impacted them in a positive way. Some even shared that what they are taking away from this training around the broad based organising model will definitely shift their organisations and that they are energised to go back, apply it, and start building people power. 

This led to a even more successful action on Thursday the 20th of June.

What was supposed to be a 10 minute presentation turned into a 45 minute negotiation on our proposal because you showed and we made a difference in the room.

Reaction was phenomenal as we had 50 people standing there with us at Council. This was the largest turnout to a council delegation that they have ever seen this term. You have set the bar and turned the tide. That is how you build people power.