New Zealand moves to abolish Maori health authority despite protests
Al Jazeera
Centre-right government says health agency set up to improve access for Maori people will be abolished by end of June.
New Zealand’s conservative government has introduced a new bill to dismantle an agency set up to improve health outcomes for the Pacific nation’s Maori people.
Health Minister Shane Reti said on Tuesday the Maori Health Authority will be shut down by the end of June and that its functions will be absorbed by the national health system.
The legislation heralds the “start of a new vision for Maori health”, he said.
The Maori Health Authority, or Te Aka Whai Ora, was established in 2022 to improve the health outcomes of Maori, who make up 17 percent of New Zealand’s population and have higher levels of deprivation and imprisonment and worse health outcomes than the broader population.
The move was recommended by a permanent commission, known as the Waitangi Tribunal, which has been hearing claims from Maori since the 1970s and suggesting redress where necessary.
