Tēnā koutou members

Many of you will have been anticipating a budget announcement this afternoon as indeed we were. Approximately 1½ hours before the budget was announced I was informed that there would not be an announcement today about any maternity or midwifery allocation. The rationale for this, is because due to the COVID – 19 pandemic this year’s budget process has been disrupted, and instead of the usual  announcement on budget day, this year the government will be making a series of announcements over the coming days and weeks.

We have noted that treasury and budget documents which became available on line have amounts tagged for midwifery and maternity services. However there is very little detail in the documents to clarify exactly what this means.

https://treasury.govt.nz/sites/default/files/2020-05/est20-v6-health.pdf

pages 97, 98,99

https://budget.govt.nz/budget/pdfs/wellbeing-budget/b20-wellbeing-budget.pdf

The College expects to be contacted shortly about when there will be an announcement.  As soon as we have more information we will let you know.

We understand that this will be disappointing and frustrating for many.  I want to reassure midwives that we remain committed to resolving the issues we have been working with the Government and the Ministry on, for almost five years now. It is vital that there is urgent resolution to these protracted negotiations to safeguard the midwifery workforce.

Alison Eddy

Chief Executive