Amy Ross, TEU Te Pou Ahurei – vision for the year ahead.

I am so energised to be writing my first message to the incredible membership of TEU as your Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary.

I officially started with the TEU on the 20th of January and I’m acutely aware that we have no time to waste in what will be a critical year for all of us.

This election year we have an opportunity to grow and use our organising power, our campaigning strength and our commitment to each other to ensure our voices are heard. We must get rid of the most regressive anti-worker government we have seen in decades. Changing the government alone will not complete our struggle but it is an essential part of what is needed for our people to thrive. We must ensure that a well-funded, accessible, respected and independent tertiary sector is understood to be the beating heart of any healthy, functioning society, including ours.

We have a busy bargaining year ahead, with all four sectors bargaining simultaneously for the first time. This is a strategic opportunity to bring TEU members and the incredible, vital work you do into public consciousness – to make the tertiary sector part of everyday conversation again. We need to reignite understanding of why our sector is so important and such a critical part of creating a successful future for our country.

You can expect that my leadership will be focused on ensuring that the visions and aspirations of our membership are given the best possible conditions to suceed. That your voices are heard on the streets, in Ministers' offices, in boardrooms, at the bargaining table, in the media, in international fora – everywhere.

We cannot operate in isolation if we want to make real change. I am passionate about building solidarity in a world which seeks to divide and fragment us into smaller and smaller groups in order to weaken our organising capacity and to break the bonds of commonality that we share. In an individualistic, capitalist world, one of the greatest forms of resistance is to reach across surface level differences and stand together. You can expect me to focus on building solidarity between members, between unions, and between the union and our communities. Only together can we turn the tide and win.

See you on the streets in 2026!