News 24 Columns

It is not a great time to injure yourself, with the health system in Aotearoa buckling under the pressure of Covid and the flu.

While Health Minister Andrew Little told the media that the ‘system as a whole is coping,’ it certainly doesn’t seem that way to both those working within the system, and those seeking support with their mental and physical health. The New Zealand Nurses Organisation describes their industry as in crisis, saying ‘decades of poor planning, inadequate funding and outright neglect have led us to a time of absolute crisis in terms of pay, staffing resources and morale across the nursing sector.’ Wait times in our hospitals have increased dramatically, with a Waikato woman who fell off her horse having to wait 11 days for surgery on her broken leg, and Stats NZ are also reporting that mental health is on the decline among our population, with 28% of us reporting ‘poor mental wellbeing.’ All of this comes at a time when all 20 DHBs across the country have been absorbed into single entity called Health New Zealand, in the hopes that a major overhaul during a time of crisis will be a good thing, somehow. Good luck lmao!

Some readers weren’t pleased with my coverage of alleged mental, spiritual, and sexual abuse at Arise Church.

as reported by Webworm, myself, RNZ, Stuff, 1News, Newsroom, Newstalk ZB, Critic Te Arohi and NZ Herald. I understand that it may be hard and painful to see these stories coming out, especially if that wasn’t your experience at Arise, and especially if those around you are dismissing criticism of Arise as a conspiracy by the mainstream media against religion. If any of that sounds familiar to you, I would encourage you to open up your mind to the possibility that others can have a different experience from you, and their experience is just as valid as yours. Those outside of Arise who are criticising it aren’t doing it because they are trying to attack Christianity as a theology - they are doing it because they care deeply about the safety of young people in our country, and over 500 vetted and credible reports have indicated that there were many young people at Arise that weren’t safe. I know this is difficult to process, and maybe you don’t want to believe it, but I would strongly encourage you with peace and love to step outside of your bubble and be open to thoughts and ideas from those outside of your immediate circle. Love ya!