Ngāi Tahu Iwi-Māori Partnership Board Members Appointed

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu is pleased to announce the appointment of the Te Tauraki – the Ngāi Tahu Iwi-Māori Partnership Board. The establishment of Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards is part of the health and disability reform’s commitment to recognising Te Tiriti o Waitangi and delivering better health outcomes for Māori.

Lisa Tumahai, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere says, “We are excited to have very experienced and dedicated board members. This is a critical kaupapa that will have significant impact in improving the health outcomes of Māori whānui in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā.”

Te Tauraki is made up of seven board members with combined experience not only in the health and disability sectors but also across social services, social justice, human rights, research, education, commercial businesses, government agencies, and private and public organisations. It is the only Iwi-Māori Partnership Board in the Ngāi Tahu takiwā.

The purpose of Te Tauraki is to represent Ngāi Tahu perspectives on the hauora needs and aspirations of whānau Māori living in our takiwā. It will support the delivery of services and public health interventions within localities. The West Coast has been selected to develop a locality prototype.

Te Tauraki will be responsible for engaging with whānau and hapū within our takiwā about their health needs and communicate these insights to Health New Zealand (HNZ) and the Māori Health Authority (MHA). Te Tauraki will work with the HNZ and MHA as stewards of hauora Māori and provide guidance on priorities for kaupapa Māori investments. They will work with localities to evaluate the current state of hauora Māori to determine priorities for improving health outcomes.

Te Tauraki is expected to be operational from early-August once the legislative process to list Te Tauraki in Schedule 4 of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 is complete.

“I would like to personally thank Te Tauraki for taking up the wero. Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us,” says Lisa Tumahai.

Te Tauraki Board Members

Rakihia Tau (Chair) – Rakihia is the Group Head - Strategic Relationships at Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Rakihia leads stakeholder engagement, relationship development and the alignment of strategic workstreams, and manages the Strategy & Influence, Te Ao Tūroa, and Governance Services teams. He has a background in a range of senior governance roles within Ngāi Tahu (Papatipu Rūnanga, marae and the Te Rūnanga Group) and in both public and private sectors. He has qualifications from the NZ Institute of Directors, University of Otago, and University of Canterbury. Rakihia has strengths in the areas of Ngāi Tahu relationships and networks, as well as experience in establishing board and management teams. Rakihia is committed to acting in the best interests of Ngāi Tahu as a whole.

Associate Professor Emma Wyeth - Emma is the Director of the Ngāi Tahu Māori Health Research Unit in the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. Emma has a PhD in Genetics and has spent the last 15 years specialising in Māori Public Health research and teaching. Her research has been awarded several large funding grants and her research predominantly focuses on Māori experiences and outcomes within New Zealand’s health system. As a Kāi Tahu wahine, Emma has strong links with Karitāne and Awarua, and is involved in many rūnaka and iwi activities and entities. Emma also has research collaborations with Māori health and other service providers and has a clear understanding of Māori health outcomes and priorities across a broad range of issues. Emma has wide governance experience, especially focussed on hauora Māori.

Norm Dewes – Norm has a strong background in social justice, human rights, community development, business innovation, education, organisational management, sports, and recreation and this is underpinned by his own values and philosophy. Norm works with a variety of organisations such as government agencies, commercial businesses, tertiary institutions, health and social service providers, community groups, iwi, marae, and Māori whānau. He has represented Māori on numerous boards, panels and councils.

Dr Suzanne Pitama – Professor Suzanne is a registered psychologist, health researcher, health advocate, and Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Suzanne has spent her career researching, advocating, and producing evidence on how the current health system maintains health inequity for Māori. Alongside the team at the Department of Māori/Indigenous Health Innovation (MIHI), she has developed Hauora Māori models, frameworks, and training programmes for health professionals. Suzanne has been involved with rūnaka, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, and other related entities. Suzanne has governance experience, being on the Health Research Council of New Zealand Board and other health related boards.

Amanda Malu – Amanda is the Chief Executive at Whānau Āwhina Plunket, and has a background in tertiary education, and social services crown entities. With a strong foundation in health, service delivery and corporate support functions, Amanda has led the cultural transformation of Plunket. As a Kāi Tahu wahine, Amanda has established networks with Papatipu Rūnanga, whānau, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Amanda has governance experience as Associate Director with Ngāi Tahu Holdings, and Hilton Haulage as a representative for Ngāi Tahu Holdings.

Ruth Jones – Ruth (Ngāti Porou and Rongowhakaata) is a registered social worker, manager and consultant in the health and disability sector. As wahine Māori with lived experience of disability, she has a clear understanding of the intersectionality of the systems. Ruth has been part of the governance and advocacy to transform the disability support system, so that disabled people, tangata, and whānau whaikaha have increasing rangatiratanga over their lives. Ruth is known locally and nationally, and has worked and trained under the korowai of Ngāi Tahu. Ruth has experience in governance, including recently with Oranga Tamariki.

Dr Maira Patu – Dr Maira is a Māori health professional with extensive medical and education experience working as a General Practitioner, Clinical Lead Māori Health with the Canterbury District Health Board, and as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Maira has been the Clinical Lead for the MIHI mobile vaccination team, is part of a team working on an Equity Toolkit that has been designed to improve Māori health care experiences and outcomes in hospital departments, and developed a tool to be used by clinical editors of HealthPathways to ensure they consider Māori healthcare barriers and epidemiology when reviewing pathways.

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