This is not just about policy; it is about people. M\u0101ori continue to die seven years earlier than non-M\u0101ori, and yet the Government\u2019s approach ignores decades of evidence on why these inequities exist. Interfering with evidence-based policy in favour of ideology undermines public trust and risks the health of our wh\u0101nau. Advisory committees cannot replicate the insights and authority of local, iwi-led boards accountable to their communities.<\/p>\n
Undoing 40 years of M\u0101ori health advancement in a single parliamentary term is reckless. The changes in this bill undo hard-won progress and weaken the foundations of the health system. Wh\u0101nau, hap\u016b and iwi are left to navigate a system that increasingly feels remote, unresponsive and disconnected from the realities on the ground.<\/p>\n
You have to agree with Lyndon that this is a retreat from embedding Te Tiriti in the health system, stamping all over the vision that Pae Ora Healthy Futures was meant to uphold.<\/p>\n
This bill also signals a wider problem. It demonstrates a lack of respect for te reo M\u0101ori and M\u0101ori knowledge, and for m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori in decision-making. When the language of a people is removed from legislation, it is more than symbolic; it reflects a dismissal of knowledge, culture and identity. This is a deep concern for wh\u0101nau in our rohe and across Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
The public is ahead of the Government. Communities across the country are calling for substantive expressions of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, not the cosmetic adjustments proposed in this bill. Evidence shows that when M\u0101ori have genuine leadership in health governance, outcomes improve, not only for M\u0101ori but for all New Zealanders. Yet this bill doubles down on centralised control, ignoring local solutions and sidelining wh\u0101nau voices.<\/p>\n
Hingatu Thompson with fellow Te Taura Ora board member Lauren James.<\/p>\n
As the bill moves through the House, I urge all MPs to consider its real-world impact. Pae Ora should be about empowering communities, strengthening wh\u0101nau wellbeing and upholding Te Tiriti. Anything less is a step backwards for M\u0101ori, for equity and for the future of health in Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Te Taura Ora will continue to work with iwi, hap\u016b and wh\u0101nau to protect Te Tiriti and achieve better outcomes for Hauora M\u0101ori. But the reality is clear: a government that ignores evidence and sidelines M\u0101ori voices risks not only the health of our people, but the trust and confidence of the country in the system itself.<\/p>\n
Our wh\u0101nau deserve more than incremental changes and political posturing. They deserve a health system that listens, that trusts M\u0101ori leadership and that builds a healthier future for all of Aotearoa.<\/p>\n
Anything less is unacceptable.<\/p>\n
Hingatu Thompson is the chairman of Te Taura Ora a Waiariki, the legislated Iwi-M\u0101ori Partnership Board for the Rotorua area, representing about 33,500 M\u0101ori in the Waiariki rohe. These partnerships give voice to M\u0101ori communities across central Aotearoa in health and wellbeing planning and service delivery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She said it was a missed opportunity to mahi tahi and drive better health outcomes for all New…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":397870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26345,28358,51164,205518,1558,682,16574,3595,40750,49159,171993,21978,266,82457,305,33443,134,5110,205517,3012,5829,2720,111,43,139,205519,69,23544,205515,18154,15400,1111,9855,16487,205516,6211,1361,3755,54946,210,21419,86662,26226,1297,30859],"class_list":{"0":"post-397869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-zealand","8":"tag-agenda","9":"tag-alongside","10":"tag-amendment","11":"tag-assent","12":"tag-been","13":"tag-being","14":"tag-bill","15":"tag-by","16":"tag-communities","17":"tag-determined","18":"tag-empowers","19":"tag-futures","20":"tag-government","21":"tag-hap","22":"tag-have","23":"tag-heading","24":"tag-health","25":"tag-healthy","26":"tag-hingatu","27":"tag-hopes","28":"tag-many","29":"tag-mori","30":"tag-new-zealand","31":"tag-news","32":"tag-newzealand","33":"tag-nurtures","34":"tag-nz","35":"tag-ora","36":"tag-pae","37":"tag-political","38":"tag-push","39":"tag-reading","40":"tag-royal","41":"tag-shape","42":"tag-steamrolled","43":"tag-system","44":"tag-that","45":"tag-third","46":"tag-thompson","47":"tag-through","48":"tag-towards","49":"tag-truly","50":"tag-watched","51":"tag-wellbeing","52":"tag-whnau"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397869","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=397869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}