Māori Party Co-leader honoured for her commitment to Māori health

Maori Party President, Rangimarie Naida Glavish, has congratulated Tariana Turia on the distinguished honour awarded to her last night by Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa / Māori Medical Practitioners. The Maarire Goodall Award acknowledges and honours long service and commitment to Māori health.

"Long before Tariana entered parliament in 1996, she had been committed to protecting and advancing Māori health," says Ms Glavish.

"As Chief Executive of Te Oranganui Iwi Health Authority, the longest and largest Māori Health Service provider in the Central Region, Tariana had been inspiring change in the health sector at home, as well as having an influential role at a national level through her leadership within Healthcare Aotearoa."

As Associate Minister of Health in over four terms of governments, both Labour and National, Tariana was instrumental in encouraging healthgain across many spheres. She pioneered the publication of He Korowai Oranga in 2002, literally translated as the cloak of wellness. It was a high level strategy focused on improving Māori health as an overarching framework to guide Government.

"She championed the concept of cultural competency in the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, introduced a Treaty clause in the Health and Disability Act 2000 and demanded higher expectations for regional Māori representation through statutory requirements for DHBs,"says Ms Glavish.

"Over the last two terms of government, because of her positioning as a strong and independent Māori voice, her influence has been remarkable, whether it be in rheumatic fever prevention, tobacco reform, bariatric surgery, Māori and Pasifika health innovation, health literacy, oral health, Māori and Pasifika suicide prevention, Māori provider development and of course the Whānau Ora approach. Her influence extended further into negotiating free healthcare and prescriptions for all children under 13 years of age as well as a vast platform of initiatives in the disability support sector.

"Earlier this year the World Health Organisation honoured Tariana for her work on tobacco reform while the World Heart Federation World Congress of Cardiology recognized her leadership in the area of rheumatic fever. This third honour; the Marire Goodall award endorses the approach Tariana has taken in being able to demonstrate integrity with influence through her work with government.

"The Māori Party looks forward to being able to take up and build on this legacy into the next parliament, and continue to do the hard work that must be done to make a difference not just in Māori health, but right across the portfolios. Our health policy, released by Te Ururoa Flavell last week, contains an ambitious set of priorities that we look forward to negotiating with the next Government."

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