Latest news with #WaitangiTribunal
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Midday Report Essentials for Friday 30 May 2025
transport te ao Maori 7 minutes ago In today's episode. The father of a man who died in Ukraine says his heart goes out to the family of a Christchurch man who has also died there. Maori health leaders have told the Waitangi Tribunal since Te Aka Whai Ora (the Maori Health Authority) was scrapped last year Maori health has no direction, no new structure, and no treaty abiding process to take its place. We look at The controversy over an artwork removed from Nelson's Suter Art Gallery, including the woman who picked up the New Zealand flag with words "please walk on me" on it, and Passengers should expect more travel time this long weekend as buses replace trains across all rail lines.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Health
- RNZ News
Lady Tureiti Moxon slams lack of Maori health plan
Maori health leaders told the Waitangi Tribunal since Te Aka Whai Ora - the Maori Health Authority - was scrapped last year that it is clear the Crown have no plan to replace it and called on the Tribunal to recommend a new system designed by Maori called the "new whare". Inquiry claimant Lady Tureiti Moxon spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Newsroom
6 days ago
- 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.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Fourth time lucky? ACT's regulatory standards law may finally pass, despite Treaty and legal doubts
By Carwyn Jones of A similar law has been proposed by the ACT Party four times, but this time the party's regulatory wishes may finally come true. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER With the ACT Party's Regulatory Standards Bill now before the Finance and Expenditure Committee, having passed its first reading in parliament last week, parallels with the now abandoned Treaty Principles Bill have already been drawn. Lawyer Tania Waikato, who led an urgent Waitangi Tribunal claim before the Bill was introduced, has dubbed it "the Treaty Principles Bill 2.0". The tribunal itself recommended the government "immediately halt [its] advancement". The reasons for the concern lie in the Bill's constitutional implications - which in turn would affect the place of te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi in the nation's legislative framework. Legal experts have warned of the consequences of the bill's broad reach, one arguing it aims to create a "regulatory constitution". Others have suggested the regulatory criteria set out in the bill are highly selective, reflecting a libertarian ideology rather than universally accepted standards of good lawmaking. Perhaps most strikingly, the Ministry for Regulation - itself an ACT Party initiative under the coalition agreement - views the bill as unnecessary because there are more efficient and effective ways of improving the quality of lawmaking. The primary impact of the bill would be to make it harder to enact laws that do not conform with its prescribed criteria. While not binding, in practice those criteria are intended to act as a legislative filter. The fact te Tiriti or its principles are missing from those criteria explains the Waitangi Tribunal's alarm. This is the fourth time since 2006 a similar law has been proposed by the ACT party during different governments. Each version has failed to progress once before parliament. This time, however, a commitment in the coalition agreement between ACT, National and NZ First suggests the Bill could eventually become law - although NZ First leader Winston Peters has signalled his party wants changes to what he calls a "work in progress". The bill in its current form sets out criteria for assessing legislation under the following categories: the rule of law; liberties; taxes, fees and levies; role of the courts; and good lawmaking. All government Bills would include a statement of consistency with the prescribed criteria, with reasons given for any inconsistencies. Government agencies would need to undertake regular reviews for consistency of the legislation they administer. A regulatory standards board would be established to inquire into the consistency of existing legislation and legislation before parliament. The criteria themselves prioritise some rights while overlooking others completely. As well as te Tiriti o Waitangi being conspicuously absent, so are rights recognised in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990. Currently, both the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Bill of Rights Act feature prominently in the existing legislative design guidelines administered by parliament's Legislation Design and Advisory Committee. Those guidelines also cover most of the other criteria selected for the Regulatory Standards Bill. But the Bill's emphasis on the protection of property rights has been criticised for potentially circumventing those existing guidelines. For example, Greenpeace has argued this could interfere with implementing effective environmental protections. Some of these issues were raised in the urgently convened Waitangi Tribunal hearing on 14 May. Claimants were concerned about the lack of consultation with Māori and that the bill's criteria would be used to override te Tiriti rights and block measures designed to promote equity. The tribunal's interim report on 16 May found the Crown had breached the Treaty principles of partnership and active protection of Māori in its development of the bill. Proceeding without meaningful consultation with Māori would be a further breach of those principles, according to the tribunal. However, a full draft of the Bill was not available at the time of the hearing. The tribunal noted, in the absence of a draft Bill, that it was unable to determine the precise prejudice Māori would suffer if the Bill became law. The tribunal also saw the Bill as constitutionally significant. While the Bill's effects may be uncertain, the tribunal found, they "will undoubtedly be felt in the law-making and policy space, are constitutional in nature, and inherently relevant to Māori". According to the tribunal, the Crown had an obligation to engage in targeted consultation with Māori, but it did not do so. That obligation was heightened by the "reasonable concerns" raised by Māori about how the bill might affect the Crown's ability to uphold its Treaty obligations. These concerns also featured heavily in submissions responding to the initial discussion document during the consultation process - although questions remain about how many submissions were actually read and assessed. Despite the tribunal's recommendation that the bill's progress be stopped to allow for meaningful engagement with Māori, Cabinet approved it on 19 May, it was introduced to parliament the same day and debated under urgency on May 23. Submissions to the select committee close on June 23, and many of these concerns will inevitably be aired again. But depending on the committee's recommendations, and if NZ First supports a revised draft, ACT's regulatory wishes may finally come true. * Carwyn Jones is a Honorary Adjunct Professor, Te Kawa a Māui - School of Māori Studies, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington This story was originally published on The Conversation .
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.
