April 21, 2021
Tamihere urges unity to realise health reform promise
An urban Māori advocate says Māori have won a huge victory in the health reforms, and they need to unite together to realise the mana Māori motuhake on offer.
John Tamihere from Te Whānau o Waipareira says the plan for a Māori Health Authority working alongside the new national body HealthNZ represents a massive transfer of resources that will allow Māori to address longstanding health, social and economic inequity.
He says Whānau Ora has shown what Māori can do when they get a say over funding and programme delivery.
"The biggest threat we have to this Māori commissioning agency is dumb iwi leaders and Māori leaders fighting one another over control and pūtea rather than looking it as a generational opportunity, bonding together – he Māori tātau – you've got to fight together, that's what the Maori Battalion does, you've got to fight together and then when you've won the war you can have a very good look at how you do the distribution model," Mr Tamihere says.
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