Lady Tureiti Moxon, co-claimant in the Wai 3307 kaupapa inquiry and a leading voice for Māori health equity, has welcomed the Waitangi Tribunal’s confirmation that it will proceed with a Stage Two Priority Hearing into the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority.

The hearing is scheduled for 26 to 30 May 2025 online.

The decision, issued by Judge Damian Stone, firmly rejects the Crown’s attempts to delay the inquiry until after the release of its proposed Hauora Māori Strategy in June.

The Tribunal also declined the Crown’s bid to narrowly limit the scope of inquiry, stating that it must consider the full implications of structural changes to Māori health provision.

“This is a critical moment for tangata whenua,” said Lady Tureiti. “The Tribunal has made it clear that the Crown cannot evade scrutiny. Nearly four years after announcing its plan to dismantle Te Aka Whai Ora, there is still no clear or credible evidence of how Māori health equity will be achieved without it. That is unacceptable.”

Lady Tureiti, Managing Director of Te Kōhao Health in Waikato and Chair of the National Urban Māori Authority, and her co-claimant Janice Kuka, Managing Director of Ngā Mataapuna Oranga in Tauranga, say Māori health providers are already bearing the severe brunt of the Crown’s decision.

“Our PHOs and hauora providers are being destabilised. Reporting demands are increasing, funding is being shifted to non-Māori entities, and vital services like the Whakatāne birthing unit are closing. These are not abstract consequences — they’re real, life-threatening impacts on our people,” said Lady Tureiti.

The claimants are also pushing back strongly against the Crown’s attempt to characterise these consequences as mere "operational matters," arguing that this language is used to avoid accountability.

“To suggest these issues are outside the scope of inquiry shows just how disconnected this government is from the daily realities Māori face. This isn’t just about bureaucracy — it’s about justice, about the rights guaranteed under Te Tiriti, and about the survival of by-Māori, for-Māori solutions,” said Moxon.

The co-claimants believe the Crown has failed to produce a coherent or transparent alternative plan since disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, despite having years to prepare.

The Tribunal has been seeking this information for over 15 months. Claimants argue that if no credible plan is presented in May, the Tribunal must issue findings and recommendations based on what is already known.

The memorandum supporting this position is backed by a wide coalition of Māori legal counsel representing dozens of related claims. Their united stance signals growing alarm at the erosion of Māori-led health governance and the Crown’s failure to honour its Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.

“Te Aka Whai Ora was a once-in-a-generation reform grounded in tino rangatiratanga,” said Lady Tureiti. “If the Crown is determined to undo it, we demand to know: what is replacing it? And does that replacement truly honour our right to lead our own solutions?”

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