Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board is calling for the Government’s new Māori Health Strategy to go further, saying its success will depend on how commitments are translated into funding, decision-making and services for whānau.
Whiria Te Ora Māori Health Strategy 2026 released recently sets the direction for Māori health over the next five to ten years. Te Tiratū supports its focus on prevention, earlier intervention, access, local solutions and accountability, but says the test will be whether those commitments result in meaningful changes to the experience of whānau.
The call follows the Waitangi Tribunal’s latest report into the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority.
In Hautupua: Te Aka Whai Ora Priority Report, Part 2, released in September 2026, the Tribunal examined the Crown’s alternative arrangements for Māori health following the authority’s disestablishment. The report forms part of the Tribunal’s wider WAI 2575 Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry.
Earlier reports in the inquiry include Hauora on primary healthcare, Haumaru on the COVID-19 response and Hautupua Part 1 on the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora.
The findings reinforce the importance of Māori having meaningful influence over decisions affecting Māori health.
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board’s own data shows the practical barriers facing whānau. In a recent primary-care survey, 66.7% of respondents said they had been unable to get an urgent GP appointment when they needed one, while 51.9% said cost had stopped them getting medical care.
Access means being able to afford care, get an appointment, get there, understand what happens next, feel safe and respected, and stay connected to care.
The Board is calling for health data that reflects its Waikato-Tainui rohe to direct resources to where they are needed most. It says reliance on former district health board boundaries and broad regional data can make it difficult to identify differences between communities.
It also backs a review of the historic funding of Māori health providers identified through the WAI 2575 inquiry, alongside ongoing growth in the Hauora Māori Appropriation.
It also wants equity and racism to remain separately visible in monitoring and reporting, and for whānau feedback to result in demonstrable action.
The Board says the measure of Whiria Te Ora will ultimately be whether it changes how decisions are made, where resources go and what whānau experience when they access healthcare.