Documents circulated to doctors this week show the Medical Council is consulting on a new statement requiring practitioners to actively advance “hauora Māori” and address “unfair systems and power imbalances” within the health sector.
Does pursuing race-linked outcome equity cross from professional standards into political doctrine?
The draft statement, titled Statement on Hauora Māori (Māori health and wellbeing), was posted on X by political blogger Cam Slater.
The consultation document from Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa, the Medical Council of New Zealand, states that doctors are “professionally responsible for taking meaningful action to advance health equity for Māori”. It says doctors must understand “inherent Indigenous rights” to “health, self-determination and equity” and recognise how colonial history and institutional structures shape health outcomes.
Doctors are told they should engage in “critical self-reflection to identify and address bias”, advocate for responses to the wider determinants of Māori health, support Māori participation and leadership in the workforce, and use their “professional privilege and influence” to work in partnership with Māori to dismantle unfair systems.
The draft also requires doctors to ensure care results in “equitable outcomes for Māori compared to non-Māori”, with equity-related measures potentially assessed through recertification programmes.
The document defines equity as the absence of “unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people” and describes mātauranga Māori as encompassing spiritual, cultural and environmental concepts alongside clinical care.
The council says the statement recognises Māori as tangata whenua and aims to address persistent disparities in access, treatment and outcomes, citing colonisation and socioeconomic deprivation as drivers of poorer health statistics.
The proposal is out for consultation and, if adopted, would embed explicit equity obligations and cultural expectations into nationwide professional standards.
The consultation document from Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa, the Medical Council of New Zealand, states that doctors are “professionally responsible for taking meaningful action to advance health equity for Māori”. It says doctors must understand “inherent Indigenous rights” to “health, self-determination and equity” and recognise how colonial history and institutional structures shape health outcomes.
Doctors are told they should engage in “critical self-reflection to identify and address bias”, advocate for responses to the wider determinants of Māori health, support Māori participation and leadership in the workforce, and use their “professional privilege and influence” to work in partnership with Māori to dismantle unfair systems.
The draft also requires doctors to ensure care results in “equitable outcomes for Māori compared to non-Māori”, with equity-related measures potentially assessed through recertification programmes.
The document defines equity as the absence of “unfair, avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people” and describes mātauranga Māori as encompassing spiritual, cultural and environmental concepts alongside clinical care.
The council says the statement recognises Māori as tangata whenua and aims to address persistent disparities in access, treatment and outcomes, citing colonisation and socioeconomic deprivation as drivers of poorer health statistics.
The proposal is out for consultation and, if adopted, would embed explicit equity obligations and cultural expectations into nationwide professional standards.
The Centrist is an online news platform that strives to provide a balance to the public debate - where this article was sourced.
10 comments:
This has already happened in nursing and many allied health fields including speech and language therapy and audiology.
Luxon, you need to act - if you can't put down a rebellion, you shouldn't be our PM.
This is a rebellion against everything that our good doctors stand for.
This is He Puapua.
It's outrageous really. As I commented the other day. The medical form I filled in at the hospital had two options: are you Maori or non-Maori? Not are you European, Maori, Indian, Chinese Pacific Islanders et al as the old forms used to do.
The good news is the specialist tossed it to one side and didn't bother reading it. The hospital staff were excellent. So, it's a bureaucratic absurdity carried out by a strange group of unelected people with low IQs.
Open rebellion against a democratically- elected centre Right govt by those supporting the He Puapua agenda for tribal rule. Had this been in Ardern's time, this defiance would have been ruthlessly crushed by her govt. Face facts, Prime Minister - and NZ.
Watched Michael Laws/The Platform on this and my enduring "thought" I wonder if 'our inspiring (not) Min. Of Health' will step up and resolve this.
Failure of The Minister to act should be seen by The NZ Electorate, that the current Govt, with National is no longer worthy of being in Office.
This is the 2nd event, by radical Maori, to undermine NZ Sovereignty, the first The NZ Army (and no doubt Airforce & Navy), which we await The (Hon) Min Of Defense/ Judith Collins to publicly speak on that matter - But wait I am not "holding me breath on this".
No point in appealing to Luxon, on this stuff he is woefully dead from the neck up, aka wilful ignorance I think they call it!
just remove their international accreditation ability....
Equity means fairness, not equal outcome irrespective of personal contribution. The pandering to maori and assistance and subsidy in an attempt to reverse their personal failings is not fair.
I'm really surprised that there is not more reaction from the medical fraternity being voiced here.
Have they all been subdued and fearful of being tracked STASI style ?
My thoughts exactly anon at 10-33. Why has the opposition to this madness have to come from outside the medical profession (similar to the pharmacy situation) Surely everyday normal doctors aren't that cowed that they are scared to say something for themselves? If so, this country has very serious problems to overcome
Post a Comment
Thank you for joining the discussion. Breaking Views welcomes respectful contributions that enrich the debate. Please ensure your comments are not defamatory, derogatory or disruptive. We appreciate your cooperation.