OPINION: The messages being scrawled on St John ambulances by our frontline paramedics highlight the desperation they feel over their pay and conditions, but not the underlying cause of it all – the chronic underfunding of St John itself. Government funding levels for St John have not kept pace with demand as a result of severe underfunding by the previous Government. St John can't keep asking the public for money, says CEO* St John ambulance staff take strike action by refusing to attend events* Many benefits from St John volunteer workDAVID UNWIN/STUFF Darroch Ball wants the "Wellbeing Budget" to properly fund St John. Added to this is the fact the people who need St John the most are our vulnerable citizens. St John is desperate and it needs our Government to sustainably fund it to allow it to provide the level of care the "Wellbeing Budget" aspires to.

Source: Stuff February 27, 2019 16:52 UTC