Don Brash: You have every right to be upset about this

There has been an outcry in recent weeks about the race-based differentiation of access to, and allocation of, health services. The spotlight on health came from the confirmation that identifying as Maori is a factor in determining a patient’s position on surgical waiting lists.

This discrimination is not new but has been escalated by the establishment of the Maori Health Authority.

Bryce Wilkinson: Examining the official case race-based privileges in public health

In 2020, my report, Pharmac: The right prescription? for the New Zealand Initiative found much to compliment in Pharmac’s pursuit of its statutory duty to obtain the best reasonably achievable health outcomes for eligible people from pharmaceuticals within the subsidy budget.

No race-based preferences are implicit in that concept. So, I was surprised last year to see the Pharmac Review Panel recommend that Pharmac bias its subsidy and employment decisions in favour of “priority populations”, notably Māori.

Investigating further, I found that a race-based focus has invaded health policy more generally.

Bryce Wilkinson: Examining the official case race-based privileges in public health

In 2020, my report, Pharmac: The right prescription? for the New Zealand Initiative found much to compliment in Pharmac’s pursuit of its statutory duty to obtain the best reasonably achievable health outcomes for eligible people from pharmaceuticals within the subsidy budget.

No race-based preferences are implicit in that concept. So, I was surprised last year to see the Pharmac Review Panel recommend that Pharmac bias its subsidy and employment decisions in favour of “priority populations”, notably Māori.

Investigating further, I found that a race-based focus has invaded health policy more generally.