Five Reasons Why We Need A Māori Health Authority, And Five Questions For Political Parties

 Successive governments have acknowledged the impact of healthcare inequalities on whānau Māori but failed to make sufficient and sustained investment or enact structural change and do things differently.

 The Crown’s failure to meet its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi was detailed through the Wai 2575 hearings and the Hauora subsequent report.

 The establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority creates a means to target funding, grow the Māori workforce and improve accountability across the health system. Inequity has been baked into our health system as well as in housing, education, justice, and social development.

 It has been compounded by the impact of colonisation, racism, and the social, economic, and commercial determinants of health. The establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora is the Crown’s acknowledgement of the need to do things differently to deliver healthcare, and to honour the centrality of the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Tino Rangatiratanga, partnership, active protection, equity, and options to realise this change.

 These guiding principles are the cornerstones for developing any patient and whānau-centred health model for all people in Aotearoa NZ However, equitable health outcomes for Maori cannot be achieved solely by better design of healthcare delivery.

 The foundation posts of health sit deep within other aspects of wellbeing: access to safe and secure housing, liveable incomes, an education system that enables all students to fulfil their potential, a fair and unbiased criminal justice system, meaningful employment that fosters individual self-esteem, and adequate support for whānau during times of difficulty and hardship.

 Te Aka Whai Ora is an opportunity to do things differently, through principles of Tino Rangatiratanga, Mana Motuhake and Mana Māori, and underpinned by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. 

Five reasons why Aotearoa New Zealand needs a Māori Health Authority

 1. Health services can be commissioned according to kaupapa Māori values

 2. The life expectancy gap between Māori and European/Other persists 

3. Sustained underinvestment in Māori health equity

 4. Inequities in access to health services and health outcomes continue 

5. Our understanding of health and wellbeing must be holistic and multidimensional Five questions for political parties in election year We call on all political parties to declare their plan for health equity and flourishing Māori lives. Specifically:

 1. How does your party propose to meet the Crown’s obligations to Māori health equity under Te Tiriti o Waitangi?

 2. What investment is your party dedicating (in the short term and long term) to Māori health equity?

 3. What is your timeframe to achieve equality in life expectancy outcomes?

 4. How will your party work across the House of Representatives to achieve sustained change beyond the three-year parliamentary term?

 5. What is the evidence base supporting your policy and plan?

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