Concerns over the Coalition Government’s active reversal of policies designed to improve Māori health outcomes were raised at the United Nations in New York this morning.
Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO Kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku told the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that despite formally endorsing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), the Government was actively stepping back from its commitment to policy and practice.
Kerri Nuku said Māori continued to face ongoing systemic racism over their rights to health, equity and self-determination.
She told the forum the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora removed Māori leadership from the health system, despite clear evidence that Māori experienced persistent and systemic inequities in health outcomes, including a life expectancy around seven years shorter than non-Māori.
"For Māori workers, this results in insecure employment, limited access to care, and declining health outcomes. These impacts are particularly severe for wahine Māori and survivors of state care and abuse, who already face compounding inequities in health, safety and access to support.
"This is not accidental. This is a predictable result of decisions that reduce indigenous participation, dismantle targeted solutions and weaken accountability," Kerri Nuku says.
She called on the forum to recognise that racism affecting indigenous health can be structural and policy driven.
"We call on the New Zealand Government to uphold te Tiriti o Waitangi, align with UNDRIP and restore Māori leadership in Health and Social Policy. We request that this forum monitor and report on developments in Aotearoa, New Zealand, including the impact of current policies on Māori health and rights. If these directions continue, inequities will deepen, not by choice, not by chance, but by choice.
"We therefore call on the Government of New Zealand to demonstrate how its current policies are consistent with its commitment, and because at present, the gap between commitment and reality continues to widen."
View the speech here from 3:10.