February 29, 2024
Colonising Government not listening
Ikaroa -Rawhiti MP Cushla Tangaere-Manuel says Government MPs have this week shown their disdain for Māori.
Debate has been heated on fast track legislation to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora and unwind smokefree regulations set to come into force ths year.
Ms Tangaere-Manuel says not one valid reason was put forward for dumping the Maori Health Authority, with Health Minister Shane Reti swatting away important questions with 30 second answers.
When Labour MP Willow Jean Prime spoke in te reo, only three Government MP’s bothered to listen to the simultaneous English translation.
“It’s that behaviour that is the exact reason we need organisations like Te Aka Whai Ora. They assume to know what we need and they assume to know what we’re saying. They don’t want to listen,” Ms Tangaere0-Manuel says.
She says the Government is pushing Maori back into a colonised health system hasn’t served them well..