September 07, 2023

Māori health authority becomes election target

Adam Gifford Posted On September 7, 2023

On file

Adam Gifford Teresa Wall | Māori health authority becomes election target

A member of the Public Health Communication Centre says moves to address Maori health equity hinge on the outcome of the election.

Download Audio

A member of the Public Health Communication Centre says moves to address Māori health equity hinge on the outcome of the election.

The centre surveyed the major political partners currently in parliament, and found Labour will retain the fledgling Māori health authority, Te Aka Whai Ora, while the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are suggesting ways to expand and strengthen it.

ACT wants to get rid of it, and National says it will replace it with a strong Māori health directorate within the broader Ministry of Health.

Centre advisory board member Teresa Wall, a former Health Ministry policy manager, says both Te Aka Whai Ora and Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand are still in start-up mode, and they can’t be expected to fix the health system overnight.

“There’s a significant culture change, particularly in those two entities, Te Whatu Ora and Manatū Hauora, and Te Aka Whai Ora needs to develop its capability as well,” she says.

Ms Wall says overall she was underwhelmed by the parties’ visions for Māori health.

Read the survey here: https://www.phcc.org.nz/briefing/where-do-parties-stand-addressing-maori-health-inequity