With Aotearoa heading towards the November 7 general election, the country’s largest nursing union is sounding the alarm over worsening Māori health inequities, warning that too many whānau are missing out on essential healthcare, experiencing preventable illness and dying earlier than other New Zealanders.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) says that while the cost of living remains the biggest concern for voters, healthcare is close behind, and the situation facing Māori is particularly alarming.
NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku is calling on every political party to make reducing Māori health inequities a priority this election, arguing that the current health system continues to deliver vastly different outcomes depending on ethnicity, income and access to culturally appropriate services.
TWO IN THREE MĀORI DELAYING OR MISSING OUT ON HEALTHCARE
One of the most concerning findings comes from a recent Mata-Horizon poll of Māori voters.
The survey found that 67 percent of Māori respondents had postponed seeking healthcare or gone without it altogether during the previous year.
Almost one-third also reported lacking confidence that the health system would provide the care they needed.
For NZNO, the findings highlight a crisis of both access and trust.
Nuku says many Māori experience a health system built around Western models of care that do not always recognise Māori cultural values, whānau involvement or approaches to wellbeing.
That cultural disconnect can contribute to people delaying treatment or avoiding services altogether.
The consequences can be serious, particularly when illnesses that could have been treated earlier become more complicated and expensive to manage.
CANCER DEATH RATES EXPOSE THE INEQUALITY
NZNO is also drawing attention to persistent disparities in cancer outcomes.
Nuku says Māori children are more likely to be diagnosed with certain cancers and less likely to survive following diagnosis, according to research examining childhood cancer inequities.
Across the wider population, she points to figures indicating Māori are 1.6 times more likely to die from cancer than non-Māori.
The union says similar patterns of inequity are evident across several major health conditions, including:
- Ischaemic heart disease and stroke.
- Chronic kidney disease.
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
- Diabetes and its complications.
These disparities raise questions about whether prevention programmes, screening, diagnosis and treatment services are reaching Māori early enough.
For whānau, the consequences can extend well beyond an individual diagnosis, affecting household incomes, caregiving responsibilities and the wellbeing of entire communities.
NEW DIABETES RESEARCH REVEALS ALARMING DISPARITIES
New research released by the University of Otago has added to concerns about the relationship between deprivation and chronic illness.
The research found that Māori living in the most socioeconomically deprived areas were 2.7 times more likely to develop diabetes than Māori living in the least deprived areas.
The findings underline the importance of addressing the social and economic circumstances that influence health.
Access to nutritious food, secure housing, affordable healthcare and opportunities for physical activity can all affect the risk of developing chronic conditions.
For Māori communities already experiencing significant economic pressures, those challenges can be compounded by difficulties accessing general practitioners, specialist services and ongoing treatment.
NZNO argues that addressing health inequities requires more than treating illness after it develops.
It also means investing in prevention, early intervention and healthcare services that reflect the circumstances of the communities they serve.
RANGATAHI MENTAL HEALTH AN URGENT CONCERN
Nuku is also highlighting the devastating impact of self-harm and suicide on young people.
She says self-harm as a cause of death is a leading contributor to years of life lost among rangatahi, reflecting the urgent need for stronger mental health support.
For Māori whānau, access to timely, culturally appropriate mental health services remains a critical issue.
NZNO’s concerns extend beyond the availability of clinical treatment to the importance of trusted relationships, community support and services that recognise the cultural and social realities of Māori young people.
The union wants political leaders to recognise that delays in addressing mental health needs can have lifelong consequences for individuals, families and communities.
HEALTH EQUITY IS NOT THE SAME AS EQUAL TREATMENT
At the centre of NZNO’s election message is the distinction between equality and equity.
Equality generally involves providing people with the same resources or services.
Equity recognises that people face different circumstances and barriers, meaning additional or different support may be needed to achieve comparable health outcomes.
Nuku is concerned that this distinction has become increasingly politicised.
The union argues that providing culturally appropriate healthcare and targeted support for Māori is not about preferential treatment.
Rather, it is about responding to established disparities in illness, access to treatment and life expectancy.
NZNO says failing to address those disparities also creates additional costs for the wider health system.
When patients delay seeking treatment, they may require more intensive care, longer hospital stays and greater use of already stretched hospital resources.
Those pressures can affect the availability of beds, staffing and services for everyone.
TE TIRITI AND MĀORI SELF-DETERMINATION
Nuku says upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi requires Māori to have meaningful influence and decision-making authority over their own health and wellbeing.
For NZNO, that includes supporting Māori-led approaches to healthcare and ensuring services are designed around the needs and aspirations of whānau.
The union argues that improving Māori health outcomes requires a sustained commitment to culturally appropriate services, prevention, workforce investment and accountability for reducing disparities.
These issues are particularly important as political parties debate the future of health funding, service delivery and the role of Māori-specific health initiatives.
ELECTION 2026: A CALL FOR ACTION
With advance voting beginning on October 26, NZNO is urging political parties to move beyond general promises about improving healthcare.
The organisation wants clear commitments to closing the gaps in preventable disease, access to treatment and life expectancy.
Nuku warns that without meaningful intervention, existing inequities could worsen over the coming years.
The union’s message is that improving Māori health outcomes should be treated as an essential measure of the effectiveness of the entire health system.
With two in three Māori respondents reporting delayed or missed healthcare, significant disparities in cancer outcomes and new research highlighting the impact of deprivation on diabetes, NZNO says the next Government must make Māori health equity a national priority.
For whānau across Aotearoa, the election raises a fundamental question: will the next Government deliver a health system that works equally well for everyone, or will Māori continue to carry a disproportionate burden of preventable illness and premature death?
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