December 18, 2018
Māori voices hidden from mental health inquiry
MATTHEW TUKAKI FULL INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
There’s outrage that the secretariat assisting the Mental Health and Addictions inquiry withheld reports detailing the concerns of Māori.
This month’s release of the inquiry drew condemnation from Māori advocates and practitioners who said their voices were not included in the report or its recommendations.
New Zealand Māori Council spokesperson Matthew Tukaki says the hundreds of Māori who participated in the inquiry have a right to feel angry about their treatment by the bureaucrats from the Department of Internal Affairs.
"They have no right to withhold the voices of our people just because it might suit whatever it is the are playing around with on in the background of their little administration, mahi, whatever you want to call it. A lot of our people fronted that inquiry wanting their stories told, they wanted to be heard, they wanted to be listened to," he says.
Mr Tukaki says it’s hard for the Health Ministry to develop responses to the inquiry without having access to that background material.
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