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Friday, July 25, 2014

Mike Butler: Waitemata DHB twists treaty



Here’s how the Waitemata District Health Board twists the Treaty of Waitangi to justify the race-based provision of health services. In its Maori Plan 2014-15, the board cites the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 as requiring DHBs to establish and maintain processes to enable Maori to participate in strategies to improve Maori health outcomes.

“Te Tiriti o Waitangi serves as a conceptual and consistent framework for Maori health gain across the health sector”, the board says, and goes on interpret the treaty thus:

Article 1
Kawanatanga (governance) is equated to health systems performance. That is, measures that provide some gauge of the DHB’s provision of structures and systems that are necessary to facilitate Maori health gain and reduce inequities. It provides for active partnerships with manawhenua at a governance level.
Article 2
Tino Rangatiratanga (self-determination) is in this context concerned with opportunities for Maori leadership, engagement, and participation in relation to DHB’s activities.
Article 3
Oritetanga (equity) is concerned with achieving health equity, and therefore with priorities that can be directly linked to reducing systematic inequities in determinants of health, health outcomes and health service utilisation.
Article 4
Te Ritenga (right to beliefs and values) guarantees Maori the right to practice their own spiritual beliefs, rites and tikanga in any context they wish to do so. Therefore, the DHB has a Tiriti obligation to honour the beliefs, values and aspirations of Maori patients, staff and communities across all activities.
Hang on, where does the fourth article come from? And compare the Waitemata District Health Board’s treaty twisting with the actual words of the treaty, in English and Maori:
Article first
The chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes and the other chiefs who have not joined the confederation, cede to the Queen of England for ever the entire Sovereignty of their country.
Article second
The Queen of England confirms and guarantees to the chiefs and the tribes and to all the people of New Zealand, the possession of their lands, dwellings and all their property. But the chiefs of the Confederation of United Tribes and the other chiefs grant to the Queen, the exclusive rights of purchasing such lands as the proprietors thereof may be disposed to sell at such prices as may be agreed upon between them and the person appointed by the Queen to purchase from them.
Article third
In return for the cession of their Sovereignty to the Queen, the people of New Zealand shall be protected by the Queen of England and the rights and privileges of British subjects will be granted to them.
Ko te tuatahi
Ko nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa hoki ki hai i uru ki taua wakaminenga ka tuku rawa atu ki te Kuini o Ingarani ake tonu atu – te Kawanatanga katoa o o ratou wenua.
Ko te tuarua
Ko te Kuini o Ingarani ka wakarite ka wakaae ki nga Rangitira ki nga hapu – ki nga tangata katoa o Nu Tirani te tino rangatiratanga o o ratou wenua o ratou kainga me o ratou taonga katoa. Otiia ko nga Rangatira o te wakaminenga me nga Rangatira katoa atu ka tuku ki te Kuini te hokonga o era wahi wenua e pai ai te tangata nona te Wenua – ki te ritenga o te utu e wakaritea ai e ratou ko te kai hoko e meatia nei e te Kuini hei kai hoko mona.
Ko te tuatoru
Hei wakaritenga mai hoki tenei mo te wakaaetanga ki te Kawanatanga o te Kuini – Ka tiakina e te Kuini o Ingarani nga tangata maori katoa o Nu Tirani ka tukua ki a ratou nga tikanga katoa rite tahi ki ana mea ki nga tangata o Ingarani.
There is something seriously wrong with the governance of this DHB to allow such a twisted interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi to see the light of day.

Source
Maori Health Plan 2014-15, Waitemata DHB. http://www.waitematadhb.govt.nz/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=FF7zYEF0NwM%3D&tabid=65

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, actually states:

Treaty of Waitangi
• In order to recognise and respect the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, and with a view to improving health outcomes for Maori, Part 3 provides for mechanisms to enable Maori to contribute to decision-making on, and to participate in the delivery of, health and disability services.


Considering the Treaty of Waitangi does not contain any “principles” and Article 3 of the Treaty of Waitangi guarantees all New Zealanders equal

Andy Oakley

Anonymous said...

My wife is a senior health professional who has to put up with race based policy almost on a daily basis. An example is Maori family's are allowed as many adults and children as they want to visit a sick patient while an ordinary NZer has to put up with 1 or 2 at a time.
Case in point is 15 plus Maori crowded around a bed of a relative often eating takeaways and often while the kids run around the ward disturbing other patients. When asked to leave or quieten down because sick and dying patients are all around you. Some leave and some say 'under the treaty we have rights to have as many Whanau in here as we like so f...off' she has even been threatened with physical abuse and has had to call security. Her superiors seem incapable or are to scared to back up their staff or are incapable to stand up to these bullying tactics.

Anonymous said...

My wife is a senior registered nurse and totally agrees with the comments about the crowds of people (up to 20 at a time) who come to visit patients. They have no respect or consideration for the other patients whatsoever. Nurses have complained to management, and are told that Maoris can do what they like, and nurses are not to offend them. (Those are her exact words). It's obvious that it's about time that the Queen put some regulations in place that are applicable to all New Zealanders irrespective of their race.

Anonymous said...

Awoke after surgery in the ward of a lower South Island hospital and couldn't get my head around what I was seeing before me. The room was full of Maori adults, visitors and so many children who were running about making so much noise. Someone, a young teenager was even playing a guitar. Then the overwhelming smell of 'Fish n' Chips' and 'KFC' being consumed on unused beds and people sitting on the floor. Then I was asked to move my feet as a women laid her 'Toddler' on the foot of the bed I was in and preceeded to change a soiled nappy and I promptly threw up and was very distressed. I was then reprimanded for being sick while people were eating by the visitors and I had a 'Meltdown'. Staff came, lots of noise and 'Talk about Rights' from the visitors, I was then moved to another room while staff endeavoured to sort out the 'Visitors' . While there was lots of talk about cutrural rights, mine were of no concern, and that was insulting, I was born in New Zealand too.