PoO’s attention was drawn to a headline on the Scimex website which told us: Groups endorsed a Māori Health Authority because it would honour te Tiriti.
That means they endorsed it for ideological reasons.
We were surprised.
We had understood the Māori Health Authority – or Te Aka Whai Ora – was established in 2022 under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act for health reasons.
It would address inequitable health outcomes for Māori, meet their health aspirations, and ensure the health system responded to their needs.
True, this would be done in line with Treaty of Waitangi principles. But essentially it was all about health and wellbeing.
Key goals (we had imagined) included commissioning Māori health services, monitoring system performance, growing the Māori health workforce, and creating more equitable and culturally appropriate care.
There was a great fuss when the Authority was disestablished in June 2024 by the coalition government that was established after the 2023 general election.
Objectors hollered about the disestablishment doing harm to Māori health outcomes.
But fair to say, political and ideological objections were raised, too – the Treaty of Waitangi was being breached, there had been a lack of consultation, and the move was politically and ideologically driven.
So which groups had endorsed the Māori Health Authority’s establishment because it would honour the Treaty?
The article beneath the Scimex headline told us of a new study based on an analysis of 155 public group submissions on the proposed Pae Ora Bill in 2021 that would introduce the Māori Health Authority.
The researchers looked at why submitters endorsed it and how they recommended strengthening – and they found
… that reasons for support included honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi and having Māori led-solutions to address health inequity.
Note: the Treaty came first in that sentence.
We followed the link to the research paper which reiterated the political thrust of the findings:
We had understood the Māori Health Authority – or Te Aka Whai Ora – was established in 2022 under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act for health reasons.
It would address inequitable health outcomes for Māori, meet their health aspirations, and ensure the health system responded to their needs.
True, this would be done in line with Treaty of Waitangi principles. But essentially it was all about health and wellbeing.
Key goals (we had imagined) included commissioning Māori health services, monitoring system performance, growing the Māori health workforce, and creating more equitable and culturally appropriate care.
There was a great fuss when the Authority was disestablished in June 2024 by the coalition government that was established after the 2023 general election.
Objectors hollered about the disestablishment doing harm to Māori health outcomes.
But fair to say, political and ideological objections were raised, too – the Treaty of Waitangi was being breached, there had been a lack of consultation, and the move was politically and ideologically driven.
So which groups had endorsed the Māori Health Authority’s establishment because it would honour the Treaty?
The article beneath the Scimex headline told us of a new study based on an analysis of 155 public group submissions on the proposed Pae Ora Bill in 2021 that would introduce the Māori Health Authority.
The researchers looked at why submitters endorsed it and how they recommended strengthening – and they found
… that reasons for support included honouring te Tiriti o Waitangi and having Māori led-solutions to address health inequity.
Note: the Treaty came first in that sentence.
We followed the link to the research paper which reiterated the political thrust of the findings:
“It is About Enabling Tino Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake”: An Analysis of Submissions on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill 2021 Endorsing a Māori Health Authority“
The paper’s Conclusion is strongly political and ideological, too:
The abolishment of the MHA stands in stark contrast to the overwhelming majority of group submitters who wrote explicit endorsement statements for the establishment of an MHA and provided recommendations for strengthening its capacity.
The submissions of health professionals, hapū, and iwi should have been prioritised and considered when making decisions about the future of the MHA as they drew upon their expertise and experience in health organisational structures, healthcare provision, and/or kaupapa Māori services.
And now see what weight is placed on health concerns:
Submitters viewed the MHA as a mechanism to honour te Tiriti within the health sector, implement Māori-led solutions to address health inequities, support decolonisation, disrupt institutional racism, and uphold Indigenous rights enshrined within UNDRIP.
Inaction in the face of need is institutional racism defined. The repeal of the MHA, the only beacon of hope for many in the health system in decades, is an action that can only be viewed as a colonial settler government retrenching power and maintaining white supremacy.
This confirms that the Scimex headline had not misled us.
But one small puzzle was set for us in the paper’s Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the MBIE Endeavour Fund in 2020 (UOWX2002).
This suggests funding for the analysis of submissions on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill 2021 was granted in 2020.
Prescience, eh?
For what it’s worth, the Endeavour Fund 2026 investment round will not invite new applications. It will provide an opportunity to extend existing contracts which had an expiry date of 30 September 2026 when first contracted.
Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.
1 comment:
The MHA was all about keeping the Treaty alive, kicking, and paying!
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