Te Tiriti
Latest | Media coverage | Commentary | Academic Literature | Legislation | Reports and Government Documents
Monitoring how the health reforms and the performance of the health sector uphold Te Tiriti obligations and how they reflect, advance, and challenge the relationship between Tangata Whenua and the Crown.
Latest
Media coverage
Simeon Brown rejected officials’ advice to have lower bowel screening age for Māori, Pasifika
Health Minister Simeon Brown rejected advice from officials to lower the bowel screening age to 58 for the general population and 56 for Māori and Pacific people, just-released documents show.
Bowel cancer screening changes ‘driven by ideology, not facts’
The government is being accused of sacrificing peoples' lives for ideology by delaying bowel cancer screening for Māori and Pacific people from 50 to 58.
Experts on why bowel cancer screening changes are a concern
Government plans to lower the age for free bowel cancer screening for all New Zealanders by "redirecting" money previously set aside to lower the age for Māori and Pasifika has been described as "disappointing".
Commentary
Former PM Bill English on fixing the health system, Auckland iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei leading way
English thinks funding is only part of the story – it’s accountability for how that money gets spent that is the challenge.
Hope remains for backtrack on bowel screening: Sir Collin Tukuitonga
The failure of multiple governments to address inequities in bowel cancer screening has led to “the potentially avoidable death of thousands of New Zealanders”, says a New Zealand Medical Journal editorial.
Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health January 2025
Following a change of Minister, the Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora, produces a Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health, as is usual practice.
Academic Literature
Te Oranga Pūkahukahu research programme: intentional steps towards a national equity-focused lung cancer screening programme in Aotearoa New Zealand
Screening of at-risk, asymptomatic people can significantly reduce mortality from lung cancer. However, evidence about how to optimise lung cancer screening for specific populations, including Aotearoa New Zealand’s Indigenous Māori, who experience disproportionately higher rates of lung cancer, is needed to ensure that a future lung screening programme in Aotearoa New Zealand is equitable.
Reclaiming Indigenous systems of healing: experiences of disabled Māori of Māori-centric health service responses in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic
This study provides a novel and solid foundation for comprehending how healthcare can be realigned to cater to the requirements of disabled Indigenous populations.
The potential of a population register for addressing health inequities: an observational study using data linkage to improve breast cancer screening enrolment and participation in Indigenous Māori women in Aotearoa New Zealand
The data linkage approach has evidenced the benefit of a population register to facilitate equitable access to breast screening services. Further work is needed on choices of combined approaches for optimising screening uptake equitably.
Legislation and Parliament
Local Government (Electoral Legislation and Māori Wards and Māori Constituencies) Amendment Bill
The Bill gives effect to the Coalition Government’s commitment to reinstating the right to a local referendum on the establishment or ongoing use of Māori wards and Māori constituencies. This includes requiring a poll, at the next local body elections, on any Māori wards and Māori constituencies established without a poll.
Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill
The Bill repeals section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989. The intention of the Bill is to enable Oranga Tamariki—Ministry for Children to renew its focus on the safety and well-being of children in care arrangements.
Pae Ora (Disestablishment of Māori Health Authority) Amendment Act 2024
Section 5 amended (Guide to this Act)
In section 5(2), delete “the Māori Health Authority
Reports and Government Documents
Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health January 2025
Following a change of Minister, the Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora, produces a Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health, as is usual practice.
Health Delivery Plan
This plan is the updated reset plan and summarises the work done to date and a roadmap of activities and deliverables to the end of the 2026 financial year. It includes a plan on a page.
HE PĀNUI WHAKAHAU A TE MANA WHAKAHAERE KAIWHAKAWĀ D STONE MEMORANDUM-DIRECTIONS OF PRESIDING OFFICER JUDGE D STONE
This memorandum-direction addresses material relevant to the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575).
Key issues
HEALTH SERVICES AND SYSTEMS
EQUITY
DRUGS, DEVICE AND DIAGNOSTICS
PUBLIC HEALTH
DIGITAL HEALTH
TE TIRITI