Te Tauraki has strongly opposed the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Amendment Bill, warning it will silenceindigenous voices.
In a submission to Parliament’s Health Committee, Te Tauraki – alongside Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – condemned the Bill for seeking to dismantle proven mechanisms for Māori health governance.
In a separate submission, Te Tauraki is one of 15 Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPB) collectively opposing key provisions of the legislation.
“This Bill represents not just disruptive reform. It would reduce IMPBs from genuine partners in health system design to mere advisory voices, effectively silencing a powerful voice for the very communities experiencing the greatest health inequities,” Te Tauraki Chair Rakihia Tau said.
As both an IMPB with statutory functions under the Pae Ora Act and a commissioning agency for Whānau Ora, Te Tauraki
Rakihia Tau says the Bill would fundamentally restructure Māori participation in health governance, downgrading IMPBs from direct partners with Health New Zealand to advisory bodies that merely provide “community insights” to a Minister-appointed Hauora Māori Advisory Committee.
Te Tauraki argues this centralises Māori health input under direct ministerial control, eroding independence and accountability to Māori communities.
“Te Tauraki has a mandate to advance Ngāi Tahu health and wellbeing aspirations for all Māori within our takiwā,” Rakihia Tau says.
“This Bill would strip away our legislated roles in local health system design, priority setting, and monitoring – roles that provide a significant statutory conduit for Māori voice and accountability.”
The 1998 Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act promised “a new age of cooperation,” Rakihia Tau says.
“However, this Bill was developed without genuine engagement with Treaty partners and within a rushed timeframe.”
The collective IMPB submission highlights how the proposed changes would repeal provisions requiring Health New Zealand to engage directly with IMPBs, eliminate independent monitoring powers, and remove requirements for cultural safety and mātauranga Māori integration.
“Evidence demonstrates that kaupapa Māori services improve engagement, access, and outcomes for Māori,” the collective submission stated.
The submissions call for the Bill to be withdrawn entirely, arguing it constitutes a return to failed DHB-era structures where Māori input was peripheral, under-resourced, and lacked influence – structures the Waitangi Tribunal’s Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry specifically identified as contributing to persistent health inequities.
“We remain committed to working with the Crown to design enduring, Tiriti-based health governance that respects rangatiratanga, embeds Iwi leadership in decision-making, and delivers for all communities in Aotearoa,” Rakihia Tau says.
“But this Bill moves us backwards, not forwards.”