August 12, 2021
Remove ‘blockers’ from health system
Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer says a report detailing persistent under-funding of Māori health services shows the need to address systemic racism at the top.
The redress report prepared by independent economists Sapere for Waitangi Tribunal health claimants shows for the past 20 years Māori health services have been underpaid more than $500 million.
It also estimated the real cost of addressing Māori health inequities at $1 billion a year.
Ms Ngarewa Packer says the report lays out clearly the scale of the challenge the new Māori Health Authority faces – and the resources it will need to fix it.
"So my expectation is if you are a Māori provider you are going to be completely resourced to go out there and make things happen. Those who have been the blockers need to be removed. Those blockers are often in the Ministry of Health. It isn't by accident we haven't been funded correctly. It is actually by systemic racism and those who have been part of that problem need to get out of the way so we can address our inequities urgently," she says.
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