A Waitangi Tribunal claim has today been filed under urgency over the Government's 100-day plan to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority.
The claim is the second made to the tribunal against the Government's policies this week, after iwi Ngāi Te Rangi accused it of breaching the Treaty by failing to protect te reo Māori.
Today's claim, Wai 3307, was filed for claimants Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka on behalf on behalf of the governors, managers, staff, and Māori cared for by Māori-owned primary health organisations and Māori providers with General Practitioner clinics.
The Māori Health Authority was set up by the previous government in July 2022 to bridge the health gap between Māori and Pākehā.
The commissioning agency was among a raft of recommendations made by the tribunal in its Hauora report in 2019.
Lady Tureiti, the managing director of Te Kōhao Health and chairwoman of the National Urban Māori Authority (NUMA), said the Government's decision to dissolve Te Aka Whai Ora "is a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi".
"Te Aka Whai Ora was one of the recommendations that was made by the Waitangi Tribunal as part of a solution towards transformational change that gave effect to Māori mana motuhake and by Māori for Māori," she said in a media release.
"Given the number of premature deaths from preventative diseases, this was an empowered solution to address the inequities of the health system and adverse outcomes for Māori in Aotearoa."
Lady Tureiti and Kuka said Māori public health organisations, providers and the Māori patients under their care are likely to be prejudicially affected by the proposed policy, and is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty.
To disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora, Cabinet must first approve the Crown policy to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora. Parliament must then repeal section 17 of the Pae Ora (Health Futures) Act 2022.
SHARE ME