Today Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer launched their COVID-19 Pandemic Response Policy.

“From the outset, the Government has failed to provide equitable opportunities for Māori to access information, resources and vaccinations. In fact they have actively blocked our efforts to protect our communities. I have witnessed the gaps with my very own eyes” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.

“Every piece of advice given by Tangata Whenua over the course of this pandemic has been ignored by this Government. And they still don’t have a plan. Their blatant willingness to ignore Māori health expert advice is committing us to beauracratic genocide.”

“Their latest mandate programme is a knee-jerk reaction to a failing system that has not been well thought out. They have consistently provided a one size fits all approach. A narrow-minded approach that has vilified the unvaccinated people in this country. This has caused vaccination hesitancy and the division we see in this country”

“Te Pāti Māori are fundamentally opposed to Government mandates because they are a direct attack on our constitutional rights under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Māori constantly find ourselves constantly having to pick up the pieces of reckless Government legislation that continues to marginalise and criminalize our people. We are still recovering from legislation forced onto our people and for this reason we do not trust” said Rawiri Waititi.

“However, we believe that mandates are an important tool that whānau, hapū, iwi, businesses and communities should be empowered to use where and when they determine a need. We support them setting their own tikanga.”

“Had the Government heard Maori in the beginning of this pandemic, we would not find ourselves in a predicament where we are forcing people out of jobs, marginalising them further, criminalizing them and putting their families welfare at risk.”

“We must empower and resource Māori to lead our own Covid-19 response. We must ensure that we provide a holistic approach to the survival of our people. We are a Party that leaves nobody behind and we believe our policy strikes a fine balance of ensuring voices are heard and Tiriti rights protected whilst considering the safety of Aotearoa in the midst of this pandemic.”

Te Pāti Māori will:

· Empower and resource Māori to lead our own Covid-19 response

· Establish an independent statutory Māori Pandemic Response Group

· Abolish Government mandates

· Affirm autonomy to set tikanga for tangihanga

· Invest in holistic wellbeing

· Implement a Māori home isolation strategy

· Support whānau who are struggling and have been impacted by Covid-19

· Keep our international borders closed until Māori vaccination rates hit 95%

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