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September 17, 2024
End of Māori criteria, will increase inequity says iwi leader
Gideon Porter
Posted On September 17, 2024
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Ngāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber says orders to scrap Māori and Pasifika ethnicity from criteria used in Hawke's Bay for free medical visits for young people is crazy.
Download AudioNgāti Kahungunu chair Bayden Barber says orders to scrap Māori and Pasifika ethnicity from criteria used in Hawke’s Bay for free medical visits for young people is crazy.
Health Minister Shane Reti ordered the criteria be dropped after the ACT Party made it a target of its drive to end what it calls race-based treatment.
Mr Barber says it was introduced in 2016 in an attempt to address glaring health inequities in the region.
“That’s going to be more challenging now, as no doubt we’ll have to scrap with everyone else to get access to the basics – basic health services. It’s not on,” he says.
Mr Barber says it will be left to the under-funded Māori health providers to deal with the fall-out.
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