March 07, 2022
Tamihere still waiting for Covid cash
Te Whānau o Waipareira head John Tamihere says he’s yet to see any of the $140 million the Government announced a fortnight ago for direct funding Māori and Pacific responses to Covid-19.
He says demand for support is growing, as Aucklanders go into voluntary lockdown in response to surging Omicron cases.
He blames officials in the Ministry for Social Development, Ministry of Health and district health boards who feel threatened by the trust Maori have in their own providers.
“It’s OK for the bureaucrats because the bureaucrats at MSD and MOH and DHBs, they’re all looked after. People in self-isolation. That’s the problem we’ve got, the inability to get resources to our people. Predominantly it’s kai,” Mr Tamihere says.
He says the Ministry for Social Development refuses to talk to him, but it has become increasingly irrelevant to Māori people.