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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