The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has today launched Reimagining Aotearoa Together, a long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments.

“Reimagining Aotearoa Together is a response to the continued failure of government to deal with the inequality and unfairness at heart of Aotearoa New Zealand’s society and economy,” said NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff.

“We will be reaching out to workers, tangata whenua, community allies, NGOs and interested New Zealanders to develop transformative policies that get to the heart of the change that is so desperately needed.

“We will also be growing a movement of people who are ready to go out and lobby political parties to adopt the policies in the lead up to the next election.

“Together we need to secure a vibrant, aspirational future that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and works for the many, not the few.

“Successive governments have failed to tackle the generational crises that confront us, from inequality, to climate change, and the future of work.

“We know that if we continue down the path of the past few decades, we will get more of the same - people working longer hours, and still not having enough to pay the bills and keep a roof over their heads. The wealthy getting richer while the rest of us suffer. A polluted natural environment and increasingly unstable climate.

“People are sick and tired of what seems like an endless cycle of failure to meet these challenges. It’s like being stuck on a revolving conveyer belt with no off ramp.

“That’s why it’s time we stepped up and set out a comprehensive vision for change that can’t be ignored by those in power.

“A better way is possible. The future is not set in stone. It will be determined by the choices we make now,” said Wagstaff.

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