Te Ao Marama Maori Hui a Tau 2010
Hon Tariana Turia; Associate Minister of Health
Thursday 25 February 2010; 11am

I am so delighted to be here in Rotorua, for this Hui-a-Tau of Te Ao Marama, the Maori Dental Association.

Rotorua is of course the ideal place to reflect on the oral health needs of Maori.

One might think that’s because of the Te Arawa smile attracting the masses to Whakarewarewa and the importance of those glittering pearlers to the local economy.

But there are many other reasons which make Rotorua the right place. Te Ao Marama itself, gained its name from Mr Pihopa Kingi from the name of the whare in which the first hui was held.

The foundation president of Te Ao Marama was local woman, Mrs Inez Kingi, herself a former school dental nurse. And I want to really honour Pihopa and Inez, who along with Areta Koopu, are still so fundamental to this movement as the kaumatua for Te Ao Marama.

Or there’s the unique history of Te Ao Marama, established fifteen years ago, at the first national Maori hui for oranga niho held at Ohinemutu.

So we have the right place; the right people; and today is time to claim this space, and to agree that it is the right time to ensure we can work together to improve oral health services for the tamariki and rangatahi of this land.

When we think of the right people, we remember the influence of Vera Keefe-Ormsby of Ngati Pahauwera, Ngati Raukawa, Rongomaiwahine.

Vera made an enormous contribution towards iwi, hapu and whanau health care, and in particular oranga niho.

Starting off as a school dental nurse during the 70s and 80s, she had the practical every-day knowledge that tamariki Maori experience worse dental disease and are at greater risk for poor oral health. But when her son Jayden was born, Vera thought, optimistically, we are in new times, things will be different.

Jayden, at six years of age, attended the local kura kaupapa where he went off one day to visit the dental therapist. When he came home his ever conscientious mother asked him what the dental therapist did. Jayden replied that she counted my teeth, cleaned them and told me I had good teeth. And that was that.

Well Vera wasn’t satisfied with that, and rang the dental therapist, asking her why no preventive work such as putting the protective coating on molars had been undertaken. The replay was that such sealants were rationed.

Vera then continued her questioning, and asked whether the parents living in less deprived areas, would expect such services for their children. The dental therapist replied that yes, those parents would expect that service as of right.

Vera summed up this experience with this one simple statement, and I quote directly from Hauora: Maori standards of health:

“But I shouldn’t have needed to ask. Jayden at six years of age has the right to receive equitable access to high quality dental health services every time he accesses a dental health provider”.

I have taken the time to share this story because it reminds us all that health, including oral health, is a basic human right that we are all entitled to.

We all know the impact of oral diseases upon our general nutrition, sleeping, rest and social roles. And perhaps the most significant factor of all – the effect of decayed, missing or filled teeth on our self-esteem.

Some of you here may remember the crooning lyrics of the Beegees, “smile an everlasting smile; a smile can bring you near to me”.

It’s very difficult to smile such a smile when you are conscious of the dental decay within. For Maori that decay starts far too young – Maori five year old children have been found to be twice as likely as non-Maori five year olds to experience dental decay severe enough to require dental treatment under general anaesthetic.

So the job that we have before us – as members of whanau; as members of Parliament, as members of Te Ao Maori – is significant.

I want to really thank Te Ao Maori for the contribution you are making to the Ministry of Health’s oral health steering group during the recent process of reinvesting in oral health services.

That reinvestment process has resulted in the commitments of additional funding for DHBs to the tune of $116 million capital towards new oral health facilities, both fixed site and mobile dental clinics.

And it has also brought forward an additional forty million dollars per annum ongoing for operating expenditure.

I’m really pleased that Government has made the commitment to reinvestment.

It is absolutely critical that we have publically funded oral health services which are accessible, appropriate and proactively addressing the needs of tamariki and rangatahi at the greatest risk of poor oral health.

With this new commitment we hope that we will see some real results for communities right across the motu in the next few years. And my challenge to Te Ao Marama is to ensure that you are working with DHBs to remind them of the fundamental importance of consulting and engaging with whanau, hapu and iwi in their work.

Yesterday I attended a hui in Wellington where I heard a very clear and a very profound statement about the role of iwi. Iwi are enduring – they are the physical manifestation of our culture, they are entrenched in our history and they will be pivotal to our future. Iwi will be there for their whanau and hapu long after the DHB services, the health providers, or the programme initiatives run out.

And so I come back to the story I started with, of Vera and her boy Jayden.

Our greatest opportunity before us all, is to re-empower our whanau with the knowledge of their potential. Each of us has a responsibility and a right to restore our families to the essence of who they are.

What Vera did, was to care passionately for the ongoing health and development of her son. It wasn’t just a case of encouraging him to brush his teeth every day or minimising the intake of sweet foods and liquids.

She also demanded that same standard of excellence for those responsible for regular dental checkups.

We need to be working across mainstream oral health services, iwi oral health services and other non-governmental organisations to promote oranga niho and whanau ora.

A commitment to whanau ora would be realised with integrated and comprehensive services that truly focus on the wellbeing of the whanau as well the oral health of te iwi Maori.

We need to take a wide-ranging approach to outcomes, addressing issues such as transport, followup of missed appointments, location and access in low decile schools and highly deprived areas, a specialised Maori workforce, and a whanau ora approach to all age groups.

Finally I pay my utmost respects to your patron, Associate Professor John Broughton and to Dr Pauline Koopu, the tumuaki of Te Ao Marama.

The leadership of Te Ao Marama in bringing together dental surgeons, specialists, therapists, hygienists, technicians, administrators, students, community health workers, health researchers and health promoters is critical in your vision, hei oranga niho mo te iwi Maori.

There are still many areas of work left to advance.

I am really pleased that the Health Research Council, Te Kete Hauora and Eru Pomare Maori Health Research Centre are currently determining oral health research priorities for low income Maori adults, elderly Maori, Maori with special needs and disabilities.

It is crucial that we get it right for everyone and I am confident that the information from this research will be critical in confirming an oral health research agenda.

I wish you all a very busy and stimulating couple of days here in Rotorua. The programme is brimming full of indigenous talent and innovative ideas. Sharing ideas is crucial to our enthusiasm, our optimism and our capacity for collaboration and co-operation.

I have every reason to believe that this Hui-a-Tau will be a vital platform for delivering better oranga niho for Maori, and I will eagerly await the results of this hui.

Tena tatou katoa.

ENDS

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