May 23, 2023
Lab test co scraps shift
A Nelson-based iwi is welcoming the decision by lab testing company Awanui to scrap plans to centralise its South Island processing in Christchurch.
Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Rārua spokesperson Shane Graham says the iwi was concerned about the implications for tikanga of moving human tissue out of the rohe.
He says the proposed shift also seemed to run counter to the threat of the health reforms to improve local services.”I know Awanui is needing to commit to delivering services in Maori partnership – and it means some of that is not in cities it’s also in rural and regional areas. So, that’s what we want to make sure that they hold up what they say they’re going to do,” he says.
Mr Graham says Awanui might run Aotearoa’s biggest pathology testing network – but it made commitments to develop genuine Maori partnerships… and that carries obligations. .