Healthy Futures Amendment Bill Is “An Attack On Māori Development”
Te Taura Ora o Waiariki, Iwi Māori Partnership Board says the Health Select Committee’s recommendation to pass the Healthy Futures (Pae Ora) Amendment Bill undermines Te Tiriti o Waitangi, ignores overwhelming public submissions, and is “an attack on anything that strengthens the future for Māori,” said Chair Hingatu Thompson.
At a time when iwi hauora leaders are raising concerns about racial discriminatory government policy at the United Nations, Hingatu says the Bill continues a pattern of sidelining evidence, weakening Indigenous rights, and eroding the foundations of the health system.
“At a high level, the Bill feels like an attack. Anything that strengthens Māori futures seems to be under assault by this government. The Pae Ora framework was built on Tā Mason Durie’s vision of a healthy future, and now they’re pulling apart everything that upholds it.”
He says both Māori voices and those of supportive non-Māori organisations were ignored. “When you remove evidence, ignore submissions, and downgrade Te Tiriti, you’re left with political ideology interfering with the democratic process. And that ideology is clearly anti-Māori,” he said.
The Bill removes localities, downgrades te reo Māori in legislation, weakens Iwi Māori Partnership Boards voted in to the governance role by their Iwi and hapū, and replaces genuine partnership with the Crown appointed Hauora Māori Advisory Committee.
“This feels like Colonisation all over again. The unwillingness to include Māori kupu signals a deeper dismissal of Māori knowledge too. Advisory committees can have amazing people, but they’re still hand-picked by government which is controlling the outcome. That is not partnership or tino rangatiratanga.”
Hingatu warns the government is out of step with the rest of the country. “Aotearoa is ready for a more substantive expression of Te Tiriti. The public is ahead of the government, look what is happening with the schools’ response to the proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill. This regression doesn’t reflect who we are as a nation.”
He says the changes undo decades of Māori health advancement. “It has taken forty years to build what we have. One term of government should not be able to unwind it. Undermining whānau undermines the future of Aotearoa. Our rangatahi won’t sit quietly, they expect to be heard.”
Te Taura Ora is also alarmed by the removal of strategies for groups most affected by inequity, including whaikaha whānau. “Removing strategies for those already struggling to be heard is dangerous. These inequities are avoidable, unfair, and unjust. The amendments make them worse.”
Hingatu says political interference in evidence-based policy risks public trust. “When Māori die seven years earlier, and decades of evidence explain why, you expect a government to act, not ignore it. Ideology interfering with the democratic process is dangerous,” he said.
Despite widespread opposition, the coalition has the votes to pass the Bill Hingatu anticipates. He believes this will trigger further action, including a Waitangi Tribunal claim and international scrutiny.
Regardless, Te Taura Ora will continue to work with iwi, hapori, and whanau to protect Te Tiriti and achieve better outcomes in Hauora Māori for whānau.
Original Article Source: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK2512/S00085/healthy-futures-amendment-bill-is-an-attack-on-maori-development.htm
