Third medical school must deliver for Māori – Te Tiratū welcomes $83M Waikato investment

Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board representing 114,000 whānau Māori in Tainui waka rohe welcomes the Government’s announcement of $83 million in public funding, alongside philanthropic and university support, for the new Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato.

This investment marks a significant opportunity to address long-standing health inequities and workforce shortages in our region—especially for rural, Māori and underserved communities.

But this can only be realised if Māori health workforce development, cultural safety, and equity are embedded as foundational pillars in the new medical school’s design, training model, and governance.

“Whānau across Waikato have told us time and again: they want to see more Māori health professionals—people who understand our values, our lived experiences, and our ways of being as Māori,” said Tipa Mahuta co-chair of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board.

Māori currently make up less than 5% of the medical workforce, despite representing around 17–18% of the total population — a stark gap that highlights the urgent need for a more representative and equitable health system.

“Cultural safety is not a nice-to-have. It is essential to clinical excellence, trust, and good health outcomes. If patients don’t feel safe, they disengage—and that can cost lives,” Mahuta added.

The Te Tiratū Community Health Plan, Priorities Report, Monitoring Report, and Whānau Voice insights highlight critical barriers to care in the region:

• A lack of Māori-led service delivery options
• Inadequate rural and specialist services
• Persistent racism, judgement and cultural disconnection in some mainstream settings

Whānau are calling for a health system that is fair, accessible and reflective of the communities it serves. This means:

• A representative medical workforce that includes more Māori doctors, nurses, prescribers, dental/oral health professions, midwifes, therapists, mental health clinicians, sonographers, pharmacists, radiologists, anaesthetic technicians and specialists
• Clinical training of doctors grounded in kaupapa Māori values and culturally safe practice
• Data transparency and partnership with iwi and IMPBs in shaping workforce investment decisions
• Recognition of all hauora roles—from kaiawhina to clinicians—as part of a thriving Māori health ecosystem

As of 30 June 2025, there are 3,991 Māori registered with the Kia Ora Hauora the Māori health workforce development programme nationally. 240 identify with at least one iwi from Waikato. Yet many are still met with barriers, not bridges, into medical and health professions.

Te Tiratū urges the Government, Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, Hauora Māori Directorate and the University of Waikato to work closely with iwi, hapū and community partners to shape a graduate school that delivers on its promise—not only to grow the GP workforce of clinical placements across the country, but to heal a system given Māori die on average at least 7 years before non-Māori.

“We cannot miss this moment. A third medical school must reflect a third way—a culturally grounded, equity-driven, future-facing model of training that serves all New Zealanders, starting with those most underserved,” co-chair of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, Hagen Tautari said.

Te Tiratū stands ready to partner and contribute to the new ‘Division of Health’ health precinct opening on the University of Waikato Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato campus.

The Board, under its statutory role in accordance with the Pae Ora Act, actively reflects and advocates for local Māori views on how public health services and public health initiatives are shaped and implemented.

The Board represents the whānau of Pare Hauraki, Waikato, Raukawa, Te Nehenehenui, Ngāti Hāua (Taumarunui) and Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa from the localities of Waikato, Hauraki, Maniapoto, Raukawa, Ngāti Hāua.