Te Tirat\u016b Iwi M\u0101ori Partnership Board, representing over 121,000 M\u0101ori in the greater Waikato region, warns that the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Amendment Bill threatens to sideline M\u0101ori authority and strip Te Tiriti protections from New Zealand\u2019s health system.<\/p>\n
“This government talks about strengthening M\u0101ori voices, but these amendments sideline our authority. Iwi M\u0101ori Partnership Boards exist to ensure equity and accountability in health not just to provide advice when convenient.<\/p>\n
We need genuine power, not paper pathways,” said Te Tirat\u016b Co-Chair Tipa Mahuta.<\/p>\n
Drawing on the value of locality evidence from its Community Health Plan, Hauora M\u0101ori Priorities Summary, and Monitoring Reports on Te Whatu Ora, Te Tirat\u016b believes weakening Section 30 of the Act reduces M\u0101ori decision-making, strip Te Tiriti protections, and deepen existing health inequities leading to poorer health outcomes for wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur reports clearly show that iwi-led solutions improve access, outcomes, and efficiency across health services. From chronic disease management to cancer screening, the evidence demonstrates that local, M\u0101ori-led planning works. Yet the proposed reforms ignore this capability entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
During last night\u2019s debate, Te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori MP Hana Maipi-Clark representing the Hauraki-Waikato M\u0101ori electorate warned that the Bill removes M\u0101ori influence and accountability from health governance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIwi M\u0101ori Partnership Boards represent the community voice and M\u0101ori-led structures that ensure equity and accountability in our health system and this bill removes their influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClause six removes the duty to maintain systems capable of understanding m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori, kaupapa M\u0101ori services, and cultural safety and clause 33 strips equity and Te Tiriti expertise from public health advisory structures, including the Iwi M\u0101ori Partnership Boards. This is not tidying up legislation; it is dismantling accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green MP H\u016bhana Lyndon added that IMPBs were originally designed to co-steer the system alongside Te Aka Whai Ora M\u0101ori Health Authority and Te Whatu Ora, but the amendments push them into the \u201cback seat,” While Labour argued \u201cWhy is the Government scared of local health services having to turn up to an iwi board and explain why they are not achieving outcomes for M\u0101ori? That is community accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n
Te Tirat\u016b Iwi M\u0101ori Partnership Board point to the power of locally-led M\u0101ori responses during COVID-19 that were faster and more effective than centralised approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur work shows the same principle applies across ongoing health inequities: wh\u0101nau-led, evidence-driven governance delivers results,\u201d Mahuta said.<\/p>\n
Te Tirat\u016b emphasises that M\u0101ori economic development depends on healthy, supported wh\u0101nau. Empowered IMPBs drive workforce development, innovation, and local health infrastructure investment, aligning with Government economic goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIMPBs play a critical role in ensuring M\u0101ori voices and m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori shape health decision-making. Te Tirat\u016b\u2019s monitoring and priority reports provide actionable insights that improve outcomes and deliver stronger returns on taxpayer investment,\u201d Mahuta said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Crown\u2019s duty to partner with iwi under Te Tiriti o Waitangi is non-negotiable. Reducing the role of the IMPBs risks repeating decades of systemic failure and wasted resources.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Te Tirat\u016b Iwi M\u0101ori Partnership Board, representing over 121,000 M\u0101ori in the greater Waikato region, warns that the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-311873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-newzealand","11":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}