November 22, 2021
Unvaxed Māori sacrificed in political calculus
The New Zealand Māori Council says government can’t keep ignoring Māori in its Covid response.
It has lodged a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal seeking an urgent inquiry into the government’s pandemic response for Māori.
Spokesperson Pita Fraser says the council wants the government to succeed, but it won’t succeed if it ignores the health status of Māori.
“We cannot have the situation where Māori were put to the back of the queue with the vaccination system and are now being left behind in a calculus of some of sort of political damage where Māori are the collateral damage,” he says.
Mr Fraser says the Waitangi Tribunal is a good place to start, but if government continues to ignore Māori the fight will move to the courts.
There were 149 new community cases of Covid-19 reported yesterday, 140 in Auckland, six in Waikato, three in Northland, two in Bay of Plenty and one in Canterbury.
Māori first dose vaccinations are now up to 79 percent, with 64 percent fully vaccinated.
That compares to an overall total of 91 percent first doses and 83 percent of eligible people who have had their second doses.