July 04, 2023
No place for Māori agency says National
National Party deputy leader Nicola Willis says Māori will be better off with policies that help all New Zealanders rather than just target Māori.
She says National is proud of its track record working with Maori, including on treaty settlements and its role in supporting the start of initiatives like Whanau Ora and kohanga reo.
It will fix Maori health through innovation and a focus on targets and accountability in the health system.
“Having the Maori health agency separate from the key health agency isn’t going to actually deliver better results for patients. It will lead to a lot of duplication, a lot of bureaucracy, a lot of cost. We would prefer to see those resources and that effort go into services for patients so we’ve said we will disestablish the Maori health authority,” Ms Willis says.
She says Maori and non-Maori alike are concernred abut the state of the economy, how incomes aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, delays in the health system, education, and safety in the community.