Co-chairperson of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, Hagen Tautari worried the changes could lead to a loss of an authentic whānau voice. Photo: Supplied/Sarah Sparks
A group of Iwi Māori Partnerships Boards (IMPBs) are concerned changes to New Zealand's health legislation will weaken the voices of local Māori communities and centralise decision-making in Wellington.
Earlier this month Minister of Health Simeon Brown announced the government will be introducing legislation for a 'suite of amendments' to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act.
Brown said the legislation would clarify and streamline the role of IMPBs, shifting their focus away from local service design and delivery, to engaging with communities on local perspectives and Māori health outcomes.
"Local IMPBs will continue to engage with their communities but will now provide advice directly to [the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee] HMAC. That advice will then support decisions made by the minister and the Health New Zealand board."
Hagen Tautari, co-chairperson of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board - which represented the wider Waikato region - said the changes would lead to a shift to centralised decision-making in Wellington and would undermine the community driven process the IMPBs were part of.
Removing the boards' ability to influence change and putting that responsibility back on the Ministry of Health would lead to the loss of an authentic whānau voice, he said.
"The previous minister had spoken about powering up the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, the current minister has instead powered down them to a degree."
Previous Minister of Health Shane Reti had indicated he was keen to give IMPBs a much broader remit.
The 15 IMPBs were established in 2022 initially to support the Māori Health Authority and to advocate for whānau and communities in their regions.
Tautari said they do "critical work" to ensure whānau voices were collected and used to influence service design.
"When they removed [Te Aka Whai Ora] some of that responsibility was taken on board by the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards and it wasn't an ideal situation, but it was better than the alternative of having none of that. So now by reducing the powers of the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards it's a further erosion."
The boards have penned a letter to the minister outlining their concerns endorsed by the larger Te Manawa Taki IMPB collective, which comprised Te Tiratū and boards from Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupō and Taranaki.
Tautari said they supported the "intent" of the minister to ensure all New Zealanders receive timely and quality healthcare. But that intent needed to have the correct vehicle to turn aspirations into action.
The minister had possibly put too much emphasis on Health New Zealand leading that work, he said.
"By eroding what we are doing they are effectively making Te Whatu Ora a substitute for what the IMPB's are doing... they won't be able to do that because they don't have the mandate and I don't think they actually have the knowledge and the intel to actually manage that."
Another of the proposed changes was to enhance and strengthen the role played by the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) which provided advice to the minister and the board of Health New Zealand.
Tautari said changes were major, placing extra expectations on the committee.
"We certainly support the committee, but I feel that they are removing such a strong and powerful ally when they depower and reduce the roles of the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards. So I certainly support the minister's intent, I just think he's gone about it in a way that I don't think is conducive to progress."
It was important the IMPBs continued to advocate for and hold fast to Te Tiriti because at the end of the day it was not going anywhere, and Māori were not going anywhere, he said.
"I think it's incumbent on all of us who work in these areas to understand that Te Tiriti is a constitutional foundation and any reforms must reflect the Crown's enduring duty to uphold Te Tiriti obligations in both law and practice and not just through policy alone."
The minister of health has been approached for comment.
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