Wednesday 23 2017, 115 pm

PREFU protest: Robbing nurse Peta to pay surplus Paul

The Public Service Association and YesWeCare.nz coalition is protesting today’s PREFU announcment calling the surplus “artificial”.

The union and health coalition have set up 100 life sized-cut outs of missing health workers outside Newtown Primary School, 16 Mein Street, Wellington.

Bill English is visiting the school at 1.45 pm to 2.45 pm today.

National Secretary Erin Polaczuk says the each cut out represents 300 of 30,000 health workers missing due to what the union says is $2.3b of health underfunding.

“The Government is robbing nurse Peta to pay surplus Paul,” she says. “The artificial surplus has been created by underfunding health and mental health services, education and public services.”

Polaczuk says more and more Kiwis are falling through the cracks because funding for services they rely on aren’t keeping up with our ageing and growing population.

“Slowing growth makes the planned tax cuts irresponsible and will jeapodarise the security of our essential services,” she says.

ENDS

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