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The Spinoff
2 days ago
- Health
- The Spinoff
Tribunal hears what was lost when Te Aka Whai Ora was taken
In a major Waitangi Tribunal hearing, Māori health leaders laid bare the consequences of the government's decision to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora. For many, it wasn't just policy – it was personal. At the end of last month, the Waitangi Tribunal wrapped up its hearing regarding the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, or the Māori Health Authority. An urgent inquiry as part of the wider Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry, the hearings took place over the space of a week and saw dozens of expert witnesses provide their insights into the state of Māori health in Aotearoa. Established through the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 under the previous Labour government, Te Aka Whai Ora was an independent government agency charged with managing Māori health policies, services and outcomes. It was pitched as a pivotal step towards addressing the long-standing inequities in hauora Māori, grounded in a Tiriti partnership model. Its disestablishment on June 30, 2024, came less than two years into its operation. 'Te Aka Whai Ora was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only change Māori health outcomes, but to also change the health system,' said indigenous rights advocate and business leader Chris Tooley in his submission. But its beginnings were far from simple. Witnesses explained how the authority was required to be built from the ground up: no existing systems, no legacy staff or infrastructure, and no meaningful transfer of Crown power. In contrast to Te Whatu Ora, which inherited the resources and staff of the former DHBs, Te Aka Whai Ora was expected to function as an equal partner with a fraction of the funding, infrastructure or political support. Its disestablishment was a political decision, witnesses argued, driven not by evidence or performance, but by ideology. 'The fallacy of neutrality that our public health system treats everyone equally and fairly – it's not true,' said public health expert Elana Curtis. 'If you belong to white British colonial culture, then the health system will tend to produce better outcomes for you than someone who doesn't align with those values or that worldview.' The tribunal itself was not unfamiliar with the issue. A year earlier, it was forced to abandon its urgent inquiry into the government's planned disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora when the coalition government introduced repeal legislation under urgency, stripping the tribunal of jurisdiction. That legislation went through without consultation with Māori, and without input from the authority itself. Later, the tribunal would find that the process was a breach of te Tiriti. In the latest round of hearings, witnesses were clear: the authority was beginning to show real promise. A 'new whare' grounded in tikanga and data, commissioning services by Māori, for Māori, at scale. 'We must bring back Te Aka Whai Ora – otherwise we will be continuing to swim in the crap of colonialism,' said submitter Maia Honetana. Witnesses also argued the disestablishment has weakened existing structures. Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs), destined to work in tandem with Te Aka Whai Ora, have been left adrift, they said. Some remain in name only, others have shifted focus to service provision, and several are now competing for the same limited funding. At least one board has said that its current funding is set to expire in June 2026, raising concerns about the long-term viability of the model. The effects are also being felt in clinical spaces. In renal care, the Māori renal health taskforce has been disbanded, and national forums where inequities were previously discussed have gone quiet. 'Equities seemed to be at the forefront of discussions, and that's now gone,' said Kidney Health New Zealand board member John Kearns. The Crown's position is that the current settings – including IMPBs, the Hauora Advisory Committee and residual provisions in the Pae Ora Act – uphold its Tiriti responsibilities. But several experts rejected that claim, describing the reforms as cosmetic without genuine devolution of power. 'Until the Crown devolves power and resources to these bodies, they are a toothless tiger who give an illusion that the Crown is honouring te Tiriti,' said claimant representative Maia Te Hira. Rawiri McKree Jansen, formerly chief medical officer at Te Aka Whai Ora, put it more bluntly: 'We aren't getting anywhere with this approach.' Throughout the week, witnesses called for a return to Māori-led design – not symbolic oversight, but meaningful authority over strategy, funding and service delivery. Many cited the importance of retaining evidence-based equity tools, including the use of ethnicity as a population-level health marker. Without these, several argued, the system will continue to fail Māori by default, not design. 'The fact that we are dying so prematurely, the fact that we have so much morbidity – when you start to do something like Te Aka Whai Ora and then take it away after 10 months, it's not OK,' said Elana Curtis. 'None of this is just or fair.' Crown engagement during the hearings was limited. Its only witness, deputy director-general of Māori health John Whaanga, had his written brief withdrawn just days before he was due to appear. Whaanga did appear, however, citing active cabinet deliberations about sector reform, while Crown counsel said officials were not authorised to discuss future reforms. No alternative model was presented. Claimants argued that the absence of a replacement plan was itself a breach of te Tiriti. In their closing submissions, they noted that the Crown had offered no justification for dismantling Te Aka Whai Ora, and no path forward since. 'This isn't a system failing by accident,' said Māori health leader Lady Tureiti Moxon, one of the lead claimants. 'It is a conscious decision to return to Crown control and institutional racism.' The tribunal's findings are expected later this year. What remains is a growing record of what Te Aka Whai Ora was, what it represented, and what was lost when it was taken away.
Newsroom
27-05-2025
- Health
- Newsroom
Crown pulls witness at 11th hour as Govt overhauls Māori health policy
Health Minister Simeon Brown is reforming the 2022 legislation that underpins the health system restructure and codifies the Government's responsibility to achieve equitable health outcomes for Māori. The Government's plan to overhaul the Pae Ora (Health Futures) Act was revealed in a last-minute submission from Crown Law to the Waitangi Tribunal, ahead of this week's Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry priority hearing. And comes as the Government continues to implement its 'needs not race' policy agenda.
Scoop
25-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Crown Withdraws Only Witness & Evidence Ahead Of Urgent Waitangi Tribunal Hearing Into Māori Health Reforms
Māori health claimants Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka are sounding the alarm over what they describe as the Crown's systematic dismantling of Māori-led health reform. They warn that the calculated repeal of Te Aka Whai Ora — the Māori Health Authority — has triggered widespread confusion, inefficiencies, and the quiet erosion of kaupapa Māori structures ultimately impacting whānau. Back in 2023 they tried to bring the matter urgently before the Tribunal before the Government's repeal deadline, procedural delays meant the Tribunal lost jurisdiction to intervene in time. Now the priority Waitangi Tribunal hearing is scheduled from Monday 26 May to Friday 30 May 2025. 'The disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora has removed the one structure that responded to those historical breaches. It has brought back the same patterns I described twenty years ago. This isn't a system failing by accident — it is a conscious decision to return to Crown control and institutional racism,' said Lady Tureiti Moxon, Managing Director of Te Kōhao Health. But in a last-minute development late this afternoon, the Crown formally withdrew its only witness and the brief of evidence of Mr John Whaanga — who had been scheduled for cross-examination — from the upcoming urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing starting on Monday. The Crown also indicated that the Minister of Health is currently reviewing system settings within the public health sector, particularly the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. Crown Law advised that the details of this work programme remain confidential, with Cabinet yet to make any final decisions. Advertisement - scroll to continue reading The Crown said in a Memorandum: 'This means that the Crown's participation in this part of the priority inquiry is now constrained as Crown officials are not authorised to talk about how present settings might be changed.' The Waitangi Tribunal replied immediately confirming that the hearing will go ahead next week, allowed the Crown to remove the evidence from their only planned witness, John Whaanga, and advised new evidence can be filed by the Crown by 9am on Monday. The hearing will start by discussing this last-minute change and then decide how the rest of the week will run. The priority hearing is due to investigate: What are the Crown's alternative plans to address Māori health in lieu of a Māori Health Authority, and what steps were taken in developing such plans? Was the Crown's process in developing those plans consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles? Are the Crown's alternative plans themselves consistent with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its principles? The onus is on the Crown to demonstrate the existence, integrity, and Treaty compliance of these alternative plans. 'The Crown must prove what their alternative plans are — and that those plans are genuine, Treaty-compliant, and effective,' said Lady Tureiti. In their evidence submitted to the Tribunal, the claimants — both pivotal figures in the original WAI 2575 Inquiry that led to the landmark 2019 Hauora Report recommending a Māori Health Authority — described a dramatic sector-wide shift since the disestablishment. They cite a return to rigid bureaucracy, heightened auditing and surveillance, and the marginalisation of Māori voice and leadership. 'Right now, we see a system forcing us to translate whakapapa-based, whānau-centred work into endless tick-box reports that change every few weeks. It's exhausting and undermines real outcomes,' said Janice Kuka, Managing Director of Ngā Mataapuna Oranga. Health New Zealand Chair Rob Campbell, former Health New Zealand Chair is one of the expert witnesses in support of the claim. The claimants evidence highlights how kaupapa Māori providers have lost the visibility and prioritisation they once held under Te Aka Whai Ora. 'When Te Aka Whai Ora existed, we were seen. We were contacted. We were valued as Māori providers,' Kuka said. 'Now, it's back to open-market tendering on GETS. The result? Contracts are being lost to large, non-Māori organisations with Māori-sounding names or enrolment numbers — not whakapapa connections to our people.' Lady Tureiti also submitted where providers like her organisation, Te Kōhao has exceeded its contractual targets — such as in maternity and early childhood through the Kahu Taurima programme — it's still being asked to re-report, re-code, and defend its success. The claimants assert that the Crown's current approach represents a return to the very inequities and systemic discrimination Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority was created to address. 'Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority gave us the tools to commission services by Māori, for Māori — free from the racism and excessive scrutiny we faced under the old regime,' said Lady Tureiti. When the Government announced its plan to repeal Te Aka Whai Ora in November 2023 — less than 18 months after the Authority was formally established under the Pae Ora Act — it marked a significant reversal of progress. The Waitangi Tribunal had previously found the Crown in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for failing to design a health system that addressed Māori health inequities or upholds tino rangatiratanga. Establishing a Māori Health Authority was one of its core recommendations. 'We warned that the Crown was deliberately rushing through this repeal of Te Aka Whai Ora Maori Health Authority to avoid scrutiny. This isn't just administrative change — it's a calculated rollback of Māori rights and progress,' said Janice Kuka. 'We will continue to hold the Crown to account for its obligations under Te Tiriti. Māori deserve a health system that works — not one that works against us.
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Community Groups, Oral Health Professionals Welcome The Green Party's Re-Commitment To Free Dental Care
The Dental for All coalition, made up of community organisations, campaigners, unions, and oral health professionals, welcomes the Green Party's announcement of their new dental policy in its alternative Budget released yesterday. This policy includes bringing dental into the public health system and making it free for everyone, as well as additional funding for community clinics and by Māori, for Māori oral health services. 'We know that oral health is an important part of the rest of our health and wellbeing, and the impacts of not being able to afford dental care in Aotearoa are devastating. Funding oral healthcare in our public health system is a no-brainer.' says ActionStation campaigner Hana Pilkinton-Ching, from the Dental for All coalition. 'The proposal to provide free, universal dental services for all is a transformative step towards equitable healthcare, recognising oral health as integral to overall well-being. This initiative addresses long-standing disparities and ensures that no individual is denied essential dental care due to financial constraints,' says Samuel Carrington, oral health therapist, Associate Dean Māori and senior lecturer at Te Kaupeka Pūniho Faculty of Dentistry, Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka University of Otago. Dental for All is calling for oral healthcare to be made universally free in the public health system and for this system to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Polling conducted in 2023 found that 74% of New Zealanders support free dental care for adults. Te Ao Mārama - Aotearoa Māori Dental Association, a member of the Dental for All coalition, shared, 'We acknowledge the Green Party's Hauora Policy and their bold commitment to include dental care alongside free GP and Nurse community care services. 'Te Ao Mārama affirms the inclusion of Pae Ora in the Green Party's Hauora Policy and its holistic view of health which aligns with te ao Māori. 'For our workforce, it affirms the care we provide, restoring not just teeth, but the mana and mauri of our people. Each tooth carries whakapapa; every smile uplifted strengthens wairua. 'For our tauira, this policy signals movement toward a system that sees and values them. True transformation begins when Māori are trusted to lead. While funding is essential, enduring change must be shaped by Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the voices of our people.' In the latest NZ Health Survey, almost half of New Zealand adults reported unmet need for dental care due to cost, with higher rates for Māori, Pasifika, young people, and disabled people. A report released by Dental for All in November 2024 found that the current approach to oral healthcare is costing the country billions, due to impacts such as decreased quality of life, lost productivity, and added pressure on other parts of the health system – well exceeding the costs of funding free, universal dental care. 'We welcome this commitment from the Green Party to funding free oral healthcare in our public health system and supporting by Māori, for Māori oral health initiatives. This is an important step forward to an oral health system which looks after everyone,' says Pilkinton-Ching. 'Across the oral health sector and in our own communities, momentum is building behind the call for free, universal and Te Tiriti o Waitangi-consistent oral healthcare. We hope to see further political parties respond to this public mandate with bold policy commitments which will improve access to oral healthcare in Aotearoa,' says Pilkinton-Ching.
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Regulators Removing Health Workforce Cultural Safety Risks Clinical Safety
Te Tiratu - Latest News [Page 1] Not The Time To Retreat — It's Time To Double Down More >> Bringing The Smile Back To Taumarunui: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Calls For Urgent Action On Dental Equity Monday, 14 April 2025, 3:22 pm | Te Tiratu It offered a range of on-the-spot services that included cardiac/diabetes/cancer screening, an eye clinic, immunisations, gall bladder/hernia/haemorrhoid banding specialists, to skin lesion clinics. More >> Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Hosts Inaugural Forum With Health Providers To Strengthen Whānau Voices In Waikato Thursday, 10 April 2025, 10:28 am | Te Tiratu The hui is a vital step in realising the aspirations of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, which mandates IMPBs to bring the voices of whānau directly into the heart of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand planning and decision-making. More >> Largest Iwi Māori Partnership Board Welcomes Bowel Screening Expansion & Calls For Māori-Focused Equity In Access Friday, 7 March 2025, 9:46 am | Te Tiratu 'Screening is an essential tool for prevention and early detection, and expanding access will definitely save lives,' said Hagen Tautari, co-chair Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board. More >>
