Health Sector United In Opposition To The Treaty Principles Bill

Over 1000 health organisations, professionals, and advocates have signed an open letter calling for health sector opposition to the Treaty Principles Bill.

OraTaiao: Aotearoa New Zealand Climate and Health Council released the letter last week. National health organisations including The New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine, New Zealand Nurses Organisation, Te Kāhui Manukura o Kai Ora, New Zealand College of Midwives, Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service, and the Association of Psychotherapists Aotearoa New Zealand (APANZ) support the letter.

Health, health equity, and environmental safety are rights affirmed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Constitutional attacks like the bill undermine these rights and subvert the recommendations proposed in the 2023 Waitangi Tribunal Hauora Report. The health sector will be exposed to an unprecedented policy environment, in which health equity and options are no longer a Crown obligation.

“The proposed bill disingenuously collapses questions of justice, sovereignty, and equity, by alleging the false freedom of equality, whilst denying the inequitable treatment by the Crown of Māori in their own land. In so doing, it attempts to perpetuate an injustice that has continuing horrific and inequitable consequences in terms of mental health, prison incarceration, and life expectancy. Moreover, the discourse underpinning the promotion of this bill tears at the fabric of Aotearoa’s social cohesion. For all these reasons, the Association of Psychotherapists Aotearoa New Zealand, vehemently opposes the Treaty Principles Bill”, says APANZ President John O’Connor.

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The New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine is deeply concerned with the likely impacts of the bill. “It is another slap in the face for Māori health after the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (The Māori Health Authority) and will embolden racism, a key determinant of health and a major cause of inequitable health outcomes for Māori”, says Collin Tukuitonga, President of the New Zealand College Of Public Health Medicine.

Hannah Rapata from Te Kāhui Manukura o Kai Ora / Māori Dietitians Association agrees. “As Māori health professionals we are outraged not just by the coming forth of this bill, but also by how it has progressed through readings. It is destroying and will continue to destroy the future of Māori relations with the Crown”, she says.

“By stripping away the frameworks that support equitable access to services, we are jeopardising the health and well-being of our communities. We cannot afford to take steps backward when so many are still striving to overcome the barriers that have long existed.

We need to prioritise the voices and needs of our communities, and ensure that our collective efforts towards equity are not only preserved but strengthened into the future - for our mokopuna”, says Rachel Miller from Hiwa Navigation.

OraTaiao calls on health professionals to take a united and proactive stance in affirming self-determination and safeguarding gains in Māori health. “Effective climate action is the most impactful health intervention we can take, and Te Tiriti is essential for safeguarding our relationships with each other and the environment. This bill is yet another step that deprioritises ecosystems we all depend on”, says OraTaiao Co-Convenor, Summer Wright. “As health advocates, we call on the profession to stand visibly in support of Te Tiriti and its promise of wellbeing and true healing for all in Aotearoa”.

We must use all tools available to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. After that, we must be vigilant against future assaults on health, the environment, and Te Tiriti. Only then can equitable health and climate action thrive within a Te Tiriti-honouring future. We will stand for nothing less.

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