Fifteen BOP Māori Leaders Appointed To Hold New Health Structure To Account

The health and wellbeing of Bay of Plenty Māori from Katikati in the west through to Pōtaka in the east will be watched over by Te Poari Hauora o Te Moana a Toi, the newly appointed Iwi Māori Partnership Board for the rohe.

With the restructure of Aotearoa’s health system and the launch next month of the Māori Health Authority (MHA), the IMPB will serve a pivotal role in role in transforming the health outcomes of whānau and upholding both the MHA and Health NZ to account.

Linda Steel, former Chair of Te Rūnanga Hauora Māori o Te Moana a Toi, says the IMPB is the successor to the Rūnanga which has operated for 22 years.

“While the structures and staff will undergo changes during this time of transition, the kaupapa remains the same as that started by a group of kaumatua and kuia decades ago, better health outcomes for whānau can only be driven by equal partnership as described in the principles of Te Tiriti,” she says.

“Māori don’t want to just experience the system, we need to play a crucial role in the decision-making,” says Steel.

Fifteen iwi representatives have been appointed to the Iwi-Māori Partnership Board (IMPB), with an opportunity for other iwi representatives and mātāwaka to be appointed in the near future. The IMPB will supply the MHA with valuable insights into the lived experiences of whānau in Te Moana a Toi.

“As direct representatives of their iwi, the appointees of the IMPB have a clear line of communication to the needs of their whānau. Collating data and vital information from these ‘flax roots’ and disseminating it to central agencies such as the MHA and Health New Zealand offers an opportunity for responsive decision-making based on real-life outcomes,” says Steel.

“The contribution that the IMPB will make acknowledges the long-held relationship between the Rūnanga and the Bay of Plenty District Health Board (to be renamed Health New Zealand); a special relationship which is unique to our region,” says Steel.

Dr Bev Edlin, Chairperson of the BOPDHB agrees that the partnerships forged by previous Rūnanga and DHB representatives provide strong support to the IMPB.

“Our direction has been clear for a number of years now, we want to proactively meet our responsibilities to Māori, to work alongside them as equal Treaty partners and develop responsive initiatives which address health outcomes for whānau in Te Moana a Toi,” she says.

The selection process for the IMPB appointees was managed by an external consultant with awhi from Te Rūnanga Hauora Māori o Te Moana a Toi .

The successful appointees are as follows:

Ngāi te Rangi - Roimata Ah Sam

Ngāti Ranginui - Melanie Tata

Ngāti Pūkenga - Kipouaka Pukekura-Marsden

Waitaha - Carliza Nathan-Patuawa

Tapuika - Rutu Maxwell-Swinton

Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketu - Susan Elliott

Ngāti Whakahemo - Margaret Williams

Ngāti Mākino - Te Ata Ngatai

Ngāti Manawa - John Porima

Ngāti Whare - Jane Nicholas

Ngāti Awa - Jackie Copeland-Davis

Whakatōhea - Mariana Hudson

Ngāi Tai - Lucy Steel

Te Whānau a Apanui - Dayle Takitimu 

Te Whānau ā Te Ehutu - Theresa Ngamoki 

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