May 27, 2021
Maori Authority not needed to change outcomes says Collins
National Party leader Judith Collins believes health resources can be steered to Māori communities without creating a Māori Health Authority.
Treaty of Waitangi claimants and health advocates have called for the authority because of what they see as a long-standing failure by the existing system to deliver equitable outcomes.
But Ms Collins is having none of it.
"Close the $250 million to set up a Māori Health Authority – gosh, that's a lot of money that could be spent getting doctors and nurses into areas we know, like the Far North, Hokianga, Tairāwhiti, areas where we know there is a real need. That would be a much better spend of money," she says.
Ms Collins also objects to the Māori Health Authority being given what she calls a veto on spending in the general health budget.
A Colmar Brunton poll released yesterday found support for Judith Collins as preferred Prime Minister was up 1 percentage point to 9 per cent, but her overall approval rating as National Party leader – the number who thought she was doing a good job compared with those who didn’t – was negative 19 per cent.
Incumbent Jacinda Ardern’s rating as preferred PM improved 5 per cent to 48 per cent, but overall Labour’s support dropped 3 per cent.
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