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Download AudioHealth sector non-government organisations have sent an open letter to National Party leader Christopher Luxon and ACT’s David Seymour, asking them to rethink their pledge to scrap the Māori Health Authority the next time they form a government.
Selah Hart from Māori public health body Hapai Te Hauora says the authority is a way to address the inter-generational harm caused by the health system’s failure to properly serve Māori over the years – and it’s not taking funds away from anyone else.
She says health providers are excited by the change – and don’t want to see it become the victim of politicking.
“We know it’s a long burn to get anything to change if it isn’t mainstream or whitestream or whatever you want to call it. This is actually prioritising the right to good health for Māori, and that is a right we should be given, and there should be no way Opposition leaders can take that away from us,” Ms Hart says.
She says it’s disappointing to see the misinformation created around the Māori component of the new system.
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