New Te Kūiti Hauora Report reveals mounting pressure on rural ‘health hub’ serving the wider district
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday 13 July 2026, 10:00AM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board has today released its 48-page Te Kūiti Hauora Report, revealing the growing strain on one of the Waikato region’s key rural health hubs, where local services are supporting not only Te Kūiti residents but whānau from surrounding communities who rely on the town for everyday healthcare.
The report is the latest in the Hauora Report Series by the Iwi Māori Partnership Board examining health across ten localities in the Tainui waka rohe – Taumarunui, Putāruru, Tokoroa, Paeroa, Thames, Te Kūiti, Ōtorohanga, Te Awamutu, Raahui Pookeka and Ngaaruawaahia, and Kirikiriroa.
While every community has its own story, the Te Kūiti report identifies a unique challenge – a comparatively young Māori population combined with the responsibility of delivering healthcare across a much wider rural catchment.
Te Tiratū Board member and Chief Executive of Te Nehenehenui, Sam Mikaere said the report demonstrates why rural communities require different solutions than larger urban centres.
“Te Kūiti isn’t simply providing healthcare for one town. It is a rural service hub carrying the health needs of communities across the wider district. That means pressure on local services is constant, and when capacity is stretched, the effects are felt far beyond Te Kūiti itself.”
Almost 47 percent of Te Kūiti’s population is Māori, with nearly half of residents under the age of 30. At the same time, local providers are managing increasing demand from surrounding communities for GP services, maternity care, dental care and chronic disease management.
Unlike reports that focus solely on health statistics, the Te Kūiti Hauora Report combines the lived experiences of whānau with local health data revealing how transport, cost, workforce shortages, childcare and the availability of appointments influence whether people can access care early or delay treatment until conditions worsen.
The findings Mikaere said point to a straightforward conclusion.
“Te Kūiti doesn’t need the health system redesigned. It needs sustained investment in the local services already carrying the load. When whānau can access care close to home, they stay healthier, avoid unnecessary hospital admissions and the whole system performs better.”
The report found that many whānau experience difficulty enrolling with a GP or securing appointments when they need them. Travel to Hamilton often becomes the alternative, adding cost, time and disruption for families already balancing household expenses.
Providers are also managing sustained demand from long-term conditions including diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disease and mental health concerns, while high levels of deprivation continue to shape everyday health outcomes.
Rather than proposing new structures, the Te Kūiti Hauora Report calls for practical investment in the services already supporting whānau, including:
• Greater access to primary care and GP services.
• Stable local maternity services.
• Expanded dental care.
• More specialist outreach clinics.
• Better transport connections for rural communities.
• Stronger kaupapa Māori services and whānau navigation.
The report also calls for Ngāti Maniapoto to be genuine partners in designing and leading health services, recognising that locally informed solutions produce better outcomes for whānau.
“Decisions about rural healthcare must reflect how rural communities actually live. The evidence shows that when services are local, accessible and designed with communities, people receive care earlier and health outcomes improve,” he said.
All the Hauora Reports combine population health data with insights from the Whānau Voice engagement programme run by Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board out in the community to inform future health planning and investment.
Each edition in the series reflects the unique health challenges, strengths and aspirations of its community, recognising that no two localities experience healthcare in the same way.
Partnership reset under Pae Ora reforms between IMPBs & Ministerial Committee
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 3 July 2026, 10:00AM
2 minutes to Read
Photo, left to right: Hauora Māori Advisory Committee Chair Tā Mark Solomon, Amohaere Houkamau and Te Ururoa Flavell.
Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs) and the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) have agreed to reset their working relationship following changes to the Pae Ora legislation, with IMPBs pushing for system responsiveness to whānau voice to become a formal, monitored measure.
The move follows a shared frustration. IMPBs say they are generating strong evidence and community health plans, but that this isn’t consistently translating into system decisions.
“Whānau Voice is our core asset. We are capturing it, codifying it and presenting it clearly through our community health plans and engagement systems, but too often it is not reflected back in system decisions,” IMPB representatives said.
One account by a kaumātua from Te Wai Pounamu on long-term travel for dialysis captured the human cost of the gap between evidence and action. “The treatment won’t kill me, but the travel will,” he said pointing to the cumulative burden of distance and cost on whānau in remote communities.
IMPBs said in some areas whānau cannot be confident they will be born or die on their own whenua, due to service access gaps. Boards across all regions raised consistent barriers: access to services, rurality, workforce shortages, and travel costs.
They also flagged contracting uncertainty as urgent, delays in signed agreements, no assurance for the new financial year, and repeated cancellations of engagement processes and called for longer, more stable multi-year contracts for Hauora Māori providers.
Data sovereignty was another flashpoint, with boards investing in their own data systems and demanding clearer governance and ownership of Māori data. IMPBs also warned that the system’s shift toward deprivation-based measures risks making Māori health inequities less visible.
HMAC, whose influence runs through direct engagement with the Health Minister and the Health New Zealand Board, acknowledged the gap and conceded it needs to sharpen how it packages advice for decision-makers and close the loop back to IMPBs.
Photo: Elijah Pue, Tumu Whakarae of Te Mātuku Iwi-Māori Partnership Board, a Whanganui rohe iwi-Māori Partnership Board.
“We have heard clearly that there is strong alignment across IMPBs, but we also recognise we need to be sharper in how we translate that into advice that lands, and how we report back on what happens as a result,” HMAC members said.
Both parties agreed to make system responsiveness to whānau voice a formal monitoring focus. Four models for structuring the relationship were discussed, a kawenata (formal covenant), a board-to-board mechanism, a regional reflection-based approach, and regionally tailored arrangements, with HMAC to engage regionally on which model boards prefer rather than imposing one.
A practical first step was agreed. That HMAC will spend a dedicated day in each region, combining collective and one-on-one sessions with individual boards, backed by a planned engagement calendar.
Three enablers were identified as necessary: a national secretariat and policy function (funding and governance still to be settled), strategic national hui timed to influence decisions particularly budget cycles, rather than serve as updates, and a predictable reporting cadence with advance notice to IMPBs ahead of HMAC’s engagements with the Minister.
“We are on the same side of this mahi,” IMPB representatives said. “The measure of success over the next 12 months will be whether Whānau Voice is clearly reflected in decisions and whether the system responds in ways that can be seen and felt in communities.”
Photo, left to right: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board member Dr Mataroria Lyndon, Hauora Māori Advisory Committee Chair Tā Mark Solomon, Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Tumu Whakarae Brandi Hudson, and Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Co-chair Glen Tupuhi.
Waikato ED death sparks call by one of the largest Iwi Māori Partnership Boards to tackle ‘access block’
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday 1 July 2026, 10:00AM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board representing over 121,000 Māori in Tainui waka rohe extends its deepest condolences to the whānau who have lost a loved one who died after reportedly waiting nine hours in the Emergency Department at Waikato Hospital.
No family should experience the trauma of losing a loved one while waiting for emergency care, and every person who enters a hospital deserves timely, safe and dignified treatment.
IMPB Co-chair and Chair of Hauraki PHO Glen Tupuhi said the focus must be on understanding why the system failed and ensuring it does not happen again especially when Crown oversight body, Health Quality & Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora has already identified Māori adverse-event harm as a system issue.[1]
“Our first thoughts are with the whānau who have suffered an unimaginable loss.”
“We respect their privacy at what will be an incredibly difficult time. Health New Zealand has advised us that a clinical review has commenced. We are deeply concerned about media reporting witnesses saying some “were waiting up to 13 hours” which is over double the performance target,” he said.
“This must be about more than one tragic event. We know many of our rurally based whānau across the region have the added stress of travel to Kirikiriroa and wait times.”
“Our community deserves confidence that emergency departments are safe, adequately resourced and able to provide timely care when people need it most.”
The Iwi Māori Partnership Board anticipates that the review will look at wider system issues such as delayed admissions from the Emergency Department also known as “access block”.
“It is the measure most strongly associated with patient harm, Te Tiratū expects these to be addressed transparently and with urgency.”
The key national benchmark for ED performance is that 95% of patients are admitted, discharged or transferred from an emergency department within six hours. Te Whatu Ora public data on overall Waikato shorter-stays-in-ED is 66.4% which is materially below the target.[2]
Te Tiratū welcomes a thorough and transparent review to establish the facts and identify any lessons that will strengthen patient safety immediately, so it never happens again.
“As the statutory Iwi Māori Partnership Board responsible for monitoring health system performance across our rohe under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, we will continue to proactively engage constructively with Health New Zealand as more information becomes available.”
While it is too early to comment on the specific circumstances of this case, this tragic event highlights the importance of ensuring the emergency department at Waikato Hospital is safe, appropriately resourced, and able to meet the needs of all whānau.
Factors Te Tiratū anticipates will be assessed include ED triage and assessment, waiting room monitoring, escalation processes when waits become unsafe, staffing rosters versus actual, inpatient bed occupancy, ‘access block’ delaying admission, ambulance offload delays, weekend or evening acute flow, specialist team response times, discharge delays and internal hospital flow.
Looking at the publicly available Health NZ Health Targets data, Waikato’s Shorter Stays in Emergency Department performance is 66%, compared with the national result of 74.2% (approximately 74.4% in the latest quarter). This remains well below the Government’s target that 95% of patients spend less than six hours in ED,” he said.[3]
The Iwi Māori Partnership Board for Tainui waka rohe know Māori experience poor outcomes in the health system across Aotearoa. More whānau experience in-hospital adverse events than any other cohort.
Te Tiratū remains committed to working alongside Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to improve health outcomes for whānau and strengthen public confidence in the health system.
A 2020 Health and Disability Commissioner decision involving the Waikato DHB found systemic issues contributed to a long delay in ED that put patients at risk.[4]
The Commissioner at the time was concerned the system allowed patients to fall well outside medical review times when registrar workload was overwhelmed.
[1] https://www.hqsc.govt.nz/resources/resource-library/adverse-events-exception-reporting-202021-thematic-analysis-involving-maori-and-pacific-peoples/
[2] Health NZ health target performance resources 2025/26 https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/publications/health-targets-performance-resources-2025-26 and Health NZ Q2 2025/26 Waikato factsheet, October to December 2025 https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/publications/health-targets-performance-resources-2025-26
[3] 23 June 2026 Te Whatu Ora Media Release: https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/news-and-updates/access-to-care-continuing-to-improve-across-a-range-of-health-indicators
[4] Case 18HDC0156 https://www.hdc.org.nz/media/i13ljoyl/18hdc01563.pdf
Iwi Māori Partnership Boards condemn systemic failure by Police & Health exposed in reports
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday 19 June 2026, 2:43 PM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū , Te Taura Ora and Te Moana a Toi Iwi Māori Partnership Boards representing 646,000 Māori say the findings released today into the treatment of an 11 year old tamaiti Māori and tāngata whaikaha autistic child expose profound avoidable failures across Police and health systems breaching Te Tiriti o Waitangi, international United Nations conventions, the Health and Disability Code of Conduct, Pae Ora and mental health legislation.
“First and foremost, our Boards acknowledge the mamae of the brave whānau who have spent more than a year going up against the machinery of the Crown dealing with agencies seeking answers about what happened to their tamariki,” said Te Tiratū co-chair Glen Tupuhi.
“Whānau must be placed at the centre of the response, not the system. No whānau should have to be at the mercy of multiple systems to obtain answers after a serious incident involving their child. Police and Health needed to be sensitive and place their needs and their wishes first before doing anything.”
Te Tiratū says one of the most concerning features of the past fifteen months has been the burden placed on the whānau to navigate multiple agencies, investigations and accountability processes while trying to understand what happened to their child.
“When agencies hold most of the information, control the processes and control the public narrative, there is an inherent imbalance of power,” said Tupuhi.
“We understand that the whānau were not even consulted ahead of the first Rapid Report release last year until the press conference was happening which is totally unacceptable. That shows the system protecting the system.”
“This regrettable case demonstrates why it is mandatory that an independent whānau advocate must be appointed immediately whenever vulnerable tamariki, tāngata whaikaha, and whānau become involved in serious incidents health, disability, mental health, care or policing services – not kaimahi Māori from the agencies involved.”
“Whānau should never stand alone – ever,” said Tipa Mahuta, Te Tiratū co-chair.
“An independent advocate would ensure whānau are informed, supported, heard, and able to participate meaningfully throughout all review and accountability processes.”
Te Tiratū was deeply disturbed last year when the case was broken in the news media as it happened in its rohe and proactively reached out to Te Whatu Ora and sought information in accordance with its statutory monitoring role under the Pae Ora Act.
Despite this, Te Tiratū was not provided timely access to key information and was advised to refrain from public comment while agency review processes were underway.
“Now these independent reports confirm in black and white that there were multiple failings by several agencies to this precious autistic Māori child and her whānau,” Tupuhi said.
Both co-chairs said the reports also raise significant questions about how Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and the Pae Ora Act were operationalised throughout the response.
All three Iwi Māori Partnership Boards note that the reports contain limited analysis of Te Tiriti obligations, Māori health equity responsibilities, disability rights frameworks, and international human rights obligations affecting Indigenous peoples, disabled people and children.
“We are particularly concerned that Māori governance and oversight mechanisms appear to have been largely absent from key escalation and response processes,” Mapihi Raharuhi, Te Moana a Toi Tumu Whakarae said.
The escalation pathway released by Health New Zealand back in 2025 did not identify involvement of key Māori oversight mechanisms, including Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, the Hauora Māori Directorate or the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee. The action plan released today was the same.
“The issue is not whether Crown agencies conducted reviews and an action plan. The issue is whether Māori governance structures established under the Pae Ora Act were present when decisions affecting a vulnerable tamaiti Māori were being made and afterwards in the restoration response,” said Te Taura Ora Tumu Whakare, Hinemoa Awatere.
“Te Tiriti requires partnership, participation and active protection. Those obligations must be visible during a crisis, or it is a breach. That is why accountability must focus not only on individuals but on the systems, cultures and safeguards that failed.”
The Boards unanimously support the call by the whānau for meaningful accountability and assurance that no other tamariki will experience similar harm ever again.
Te Tiratū backs the petition that has just been launched behalf of the whānau.
CALL FOR ACTION
Te Tiratū is calling for:
•Independent advocacy for whānau from the outset of serious incidents
•Mandatory Māori and disability-informed oversight in cases involving vulnerable tamariki and tāngata whaikaha
•Full implementation of recommendations arising from the Section 95 Inquiry and Health and Disability Commissioner processes
•Stronger Te Tiriti accountability mechanisms within escalation and crisis response pathways
•Clear monitoring and public reporting on implementation of recommendations
•Improved autism, neurodiversity and disability training across frontline agencies
•Strengthened safeguards for tamariki entering acute mental health services
•Greater integration of whānau-centred practice and supported decision-making frameworks
Budget must close widening rural health gap warns Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday 28 May 2026, 5:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board says today’s Budget will ultimately be judged on whether new health spending reaches frontline primary care and kaupapa Māori services especially in under resourced rural communities already carrying high levels of unmet need.
“Yes, this Budget contains substantial health spending. The question for Māori communities, is whether enough of that investment reaches the frontline services carrying the heaviest burden of inequity,” said Tipa Mahuta, Co-Chair of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board.
While Budget 2026 includes significant health investment of $5.8 billion over four years, the Iwi Māori Partnership Board in Waikato representing over 121,300 Māori says Māori and rural communities continue to require sustained, long-term funding focused on prevention, early intervention, and locally led care to address persistent inequities.
Te Tiratū says whānau in Waikato continue to face growing pressure from chronic disease, mental health need, poor housing, workforce shortages, and barriers to timely access to healthcare particularly in rural and provincial communities.
Despite overall health investment, the Board says there is no clear identifiable uplift for primary and community care at the level required to meet growing demand.
“Primary care is where the pressure is already sitting. If investment does not reach frontline and kaupapa Māori providers, communities will continue paying the price later through avoidable hospital admissions, worsening illness and delayed treatment,” Mahuta said.
“The issue is not simply whether funding is announced. It is whether whānau in places like Taumarunui, Tokoroa, Kāwhia or Ngāruawāhia actually experience earlier access to care, shorter waits, and better support.”
The Board’s Hauora Report series across Te Kūiti, Taumarunui, Te Awamutu, Tokoroa, Thames, Ōtorohanga, Putāruru, Paeroa, Rāhui Pōkeka and Ngāruawāhia continues to show consistent system pressures, including:
•high deprivation
•rising chronic disease burden
•transport and rural access barriers
•workforce shortages
•mental health need
•gaps in adult dental care
•growing demand for kaupapa Māori and whānau-centred services
It’s local monitoring and Whānau Voice surveys point to rural hospitals carrying sustained acute demand, with Māori often presenting later, encountering access barriers, and limited local service availability.
Primary and community care capacity remains particularly constrained in high-needs rural areas such as Ōtorohanga, Kāwhia and the wider King Country, where workforce shortages continue to limit timely and culturally safe care, especially in mental health, addictions, and kaupapa Māori services.
In Taumarunui, local monitoring shows nearly 87 percent of residents live in high deprivation areas. In Rāhui Pōkeka (Huntly) and Ngāruawāhia, more than half the Māori population is under 30, increasing pressure on youth wellbeing and early intervention services.
The co-Chair of Te Tiratū says whānau are experiencing longer waits, reduced continuity of care, and increasing travel burdens that compound existing inequities. Rural Waikato continues to be treated as if healthcare access is equitable across the system, when it is not.
“For many whānau, healthcare access is not just whether a service exists. It is whether they can afford the appointment, travel the distance, take time off work, arrange transport, or be seen early enough before conditions become acute,” Mahuta said.
She said many of the Budget’s largest investments appear focused on hospital infrastructure and system capacity, while primary and community-based services remain under pressure.
Clinically, prevention and early intervention services remain fragmented according to Te Tiratū, resulting in avoidable escalation of conditions into acute care settings and placing further strain on emergency departments and rural hospitals.
The Iwi Māori Partnership Board says Budget 2026 will be assessed on whether it meaningfully strengthens:
•primary care
•kaupapa Māori providers
•rural and mobile services
•rangatahi mental health
•chronic disease prevention
•adult dental services
•workforce recruitment and retention
•whānau-centred care
Te Tiratū also highlights the $531 million in historical underfunding of Māori health organisations1, alongside ongoing uncertainty for Māori providers following the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority) and raises concerns about how Māori health priorities will now be consistently funded and delivered across the system.
Proposed changes to national funding and eligibility settings, including diabetes medicine access pathways, reinforce the need for Māori health need to remain visible within mainstream funding decisions.
“Clinical need does not sit separately from inequity. Māori communities carry higher burden of chronic illness, poorer access to services, and greater barriers to early care. Those realities must remain visible in funding and access decisions,” she said.
Strengthening rural hospitals and community-based services, the Iwi Partnership Board notes, would reduce avoidable hospital admissions and enable earlier intervention closer to home. Expanding adult dental services would address a significant prevention gap and reduce preventable presentations to emergency departments. Improving access to diabetes and dialysis care would help prevent progression to late-stage disease while also reducing the travel burden on whānau.
“We support investment into treatment and hospital services, but clinically we know pressure starts much earlier in unmet primary care need, delayed diagnosis, poor access to prevention, and fragmented follow-up care.”
Te Tiratū believes the evidence from across the rohe is already clear, regardless of Budget announcements. Long-term investment is needed in kaupapa Māori and iwi-led services, rural and community-based care, mental health and addictions services, workforce development, and prevention-focused models of care.
“If these areas are not materially addressed, the pressure we are already seeing across the system will continue to escalate and inequities for Māori will widen,” said Mahuta.
“What matters now is whether Budget 2026 reduces the distance between policy announcements in Wellington and the lived reality for whānau trying to access healthcare in rural Waikato.”
Crackdown on vaping – the call for regulation ahead of World Smokefree Day
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday 25 May 2026, 5:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board is calling for urgent regulatory and public health action to curb the rising uptake of vaping products across the Waikato rohe, warning that current market practices are driving nicotine addiction among rangatahi Māori and undermining whānau wellbeing.
Released ahead of World Smokefree Day on 31 May 2026, Te Tiratū has worked with the Otago University Faculty of Medicine on a Vaping Position Statement.
Developed with expert technical advisor Associate Professor Andrew Waa it calls for vaping products to be restricted to regulated therapeutic settings only to protect rangatahi Māori from nicotine addiction.
Te Tiratū represents approximately 121,300 Māori across the Waikato rohe, a population that is both young and significantly rural, with 48% under the age of 25.
National data shows concerning trends among rangatahi Māori, with 16.5% of Māori Year 10 students vaping daily, 23.9% vaping regularly, and 53.2% having tried vaping, while Māori girls report the highest regular vaping rate at 28.7%.
Tumu Whakarae of Te Tiratū IMPB, Brandi Hudson says the scale of harm being seen across the rohe requires urgent action and number of rangatahi vaping reinforces the need for stronger prevention-focused regulation.
“Te Tiratū is extremely concerned about the widespread uptake of vaping products and the predatory marketing strategies used to lure our whānau into nicotine addiction. To uphold our vision “Kia tupu, kia hua, kia puāwai”, we must protect our people especially rangatahi from exploitation by highly addictive products,” she said.
“Vaping is not a harmless lifestyle choice. It is a rapidly normalised pathway into nicotine dependency for our young people, and we cannot afford to ignore what we are seeing in our communities.”
As part of its statutory monitoring function, Te Tiratū has identified persistent respiratory inequities, including an average of 215 Māori children aged 14 and under being hospitalised for asthma each year between 2020 and 2023, at rates 1.9 times higher than non-Māori children.
These inequities are compounded by high levels of deprivation, damp and mould-affected housing, and reduced access to primary care, along with ongoing gaps in access to cessation support and youth health services. Together, these conditions intensify the respiratory risks faced by rangatahi Māori in the context of rising vaping uptake.
Associate Professor Andrew Waa says vaping must be understood within the broader history of commercial nicotine exploitation.
“Tobacco was introduced to Māori by Captain Cook and has since been aggressively promoted by an industry that profits from addiction,” he said.
“Vaping products are designed to be highly addictive, appealing, and easy to use particularly for rangatahi. While they may have a place as a cessation tool for people who smoke, they are not harmless, and they are being marketed in ways that undermine rangatahi wellbeing and tino rangatiratanga within whānau, hapū, and iwi.”
Te Tiratū supports Vaping as a regulated therapeutic product only backed by a strengthened regulatory framework in which vaping products are:
- Available only through accredited health services (pharmacies, cessation services, primary care)
- Subject to strict nicotine limits
- Sold in standardised packaging with reduced appeal features
- Limited to essential flavours for cessation purposes only
- Supported by stronger border and domestic enforcement of illicit supply chains
- Accompanied by accessible vaping cessation support services, including for rangatahi.
The position statement also warns that vaping has been normalised as a “lifestyle product” rather than a therapeutic tool, undermining tobacco control progress and exposing young people to nicotine addiction pathways.
It also highlights the need to prioritise rangatahi wellbeing in definitions of harm, not only adult smoking cessation outcomes.
Push back on Pharmac move to remove equity access criteria for lifesaving medicines
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday 14 May 2026, 6:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
One of the largest Iwi Māori Partnership Boards in the country, Te Tiratū that represents 121,300 Māori is calling on Pharmac to immediately reconsider proposals to remove ethnicity equity criteria from access to SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists that are internationally recognised treatments for type 2 diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
Te Tiratū warns the proposal risks reversing one of the few medicines policy decisions in Aotearoa specifically designed to address entrenched inequities in diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease for Māori.
Pharmac has opened public consultation today on proposals to remove Māori and Pacific ethnicity from Special Authority access criteria for these medicines – despite the criteria being introduced in 2021 following sustained advocacy from Māori clinicians, researchers and Indigenous health leaders.
The ethnicity criteria were implemented because evidence showed Māori and Pacific peoples were significantly less likely to receive modern diabetes and cardiovascular medicines, despite carrying a substantially higher burden of disease and experiencing earlier and more severe complications.
Te Tiratū Co-Chair, Glen Tupuhi says the proposal ignores the overwhelming evidence that Māori experience significantly higher rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease, while continuing to face systemic barriers accessing medicines and treatment.
“These medicines save lives and prevent devastating complications for whānau,” he said. “Māori are diagnosed younger, become sicker earlier, and die sooner from preventable chronic illnesses. Equity pathways exist because the health system has not delivered equitable outcomes for Māori.”
Te Tiratū says the proposal is particularly concerning because the strongest emerging evidence for SGLT2 inhibitors is now in chronic kidney disease (CKD), including for people without diabetes.
They are around twice as likely to live with diabetes compared to non-Māori, experience cardiovascular disease at significantly higher rates, and face chronic kidney failure at disproportionately higher levels.
Diabetes often emerges around a decade sooner for Māori than in non-Māori populations, contributing to earlier onset of complications such as heart failure, kidney disease, amputations and premature death. Māori experience approximately 3.5 times higher mortality from diabetes-related causes and are significantly more likely to progress to end-stage renal failure, even when living with the same diagnosis.
The Waitangi Tribunal’s Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry (Wai 2575), including Wai 2919 filed by Associate Professor Leanne Te Karu, has documented “prescription inequity” within the New Zealand health system, including under-access to diabetes, cardiovascular and renal medicines for Māori.
Dr Leanne Te Karu, author of Te Tiratū’s recent position statement on 12-month prescriptions and claimant in Wai 2919 has consistently highlighted the impact prescription inequity has on Māori health outcomes.
Her research references the “missing million prescriptions” analysis, highlighting the scale of inequitable prescribing relative to Māori health need.
“Restricting equitable access to SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 medicines risks widening the very inequities the health system has acknowledged for years,” said Dr Te Karu.
Te Tiratū says removing ethnicity equity criteria raises serious concerns about whether Pharmac is meeting its obligations to achieve equitable Māori health outcomes under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“Treating all universally in the system does not create fairness. It entrenches inequity,” said Glen Tupuhi.
The Iwi Māori Partnership Board is calling on Pharmac to:
•Retain ethnicity equity criteria for access to these medicines;
•Publicly release equity impact analysis before consultation proceeds;
•Demonstrate how Māori health outcomes will improve if the criteria are removed;
•Engage directly with Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, Māori clinicians and Māori health providers;
•Uphold Te Tiriti obligations in medicines policy and funding decisions.
Te Tiratū says any proposal affecting equitable access to medicines must be assessed against the reality that Māori continue to experience some of the highest rates of avoidable illness, preventable hospitalisation and premature death in Aotearoa.
“Māori die at least seven years earlier.1 So these decisions are not abstract policy choices. They will directly affect whether whānau avoid dialysis, amputations, heart attacks and early death,” he said.
Te Tiratū is developing resources to support whānau, Māori health providers, clinicians and community leaders to make informed submissions ahead of the consultation deadline of 5:00pm, Thursday, 28 May, opposing the removal of equity access criteria.
It will also brief all 14 Iwi Māori Partnership Boards nationally, the Hauora Iwi Leaders Group within the National Iwi Leaders Forum, the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee to Minister Brown, the Attorney General, the Chief Ombudsman, the Human Rights Commission, and Members of Parliament on the adverse impact the proposal could have on Māori health outcomes.
Dr Leanne Te Karu
Iwi Māori Partnership Board calls for equity-led delivery in earlier bowel screening
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday 30 March 2026, 5:00 AM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB), one of the largest in Aotearoa representing 121,300 whānau across the Tainui waka rohe, supports lowering the national bowel screening age to 58. It says the change will save lives, but only if equity for our Māori and Pacific whānau are central to how the programme is delivered.
Board member and clinician, Dr Mataroria Lyndon says the expansion is a positive move, but the data shows Māori and Pacific peoples are still being left behind at every stage of the screening pathway.
“Lowering the screening age is progress because it will help catch more cancers earlier. But the reality is stark. Around 60% of wāhine Māori and 50% of tāne Māori with bowel cancer are diagnosed before age 60, compared with about 30% in non-Māori. That means that even with screening starting at 58, a substantial proportion of Māori bowel cancers are likely to develop before people become eligible for screening.”
“Screening at 58 is better than 60, but it is not enough. The earlier we can detect bowel cancers among whānau Māori and Pacific, the more lives we can save. Ideally, the screening age should be lowered further and paired with equity-focused outreach and support.”
Data from the Te Tiratū IMPB priorities summary report highlights the scale of the challenge in the Waikato rohe. As at June 2023, 40.6 percent of the eligible Māori population in Waikato District had been screened for bowel cancer, compared with 57.4 percent of non-Māori.[1] Screening rates are lowest in younger age groups, where the largest numbers of Māori stand to benefit from earlier detection.
An average of 161 Māori die from cancer each year in Waikato District, and Māori are around twice as likely as non-Māori to die from any cancer. Dr Lyndon says these inequities reinforce the need for screening programmes that are not only broader but better designed.
“Expanding eligibility on its own is not enough. Equity must be built into delivery. That means services must be accessible, culturally appropriate, and actively reach whānau who are currently missing out.”
He acknowledged the leadership of kaupapa Māori providers in the region, including Taakiri Tuu wellness and diagnostic centre built and operated by Te Kōhao Health, who are already working to improve early detection and outcomes through whānau-centred models of care within the community.
“What we are seeing locally is what works. Māori providers are engaging our people in ways the mainstream system often cannot. They are trusted, connected, and delivering services that reflect the realities of our people’s lives. That is where continued investment and support are critical.”
Dr Lyndon says younger Māori remain a key priority, particularly given the evidence that bowel cancer can present earlier and progress more rapidly.
“The evidence is clear. Māori are more likely to develop bowel cancer at younger ages and experience worse outcomes. That means earlier screening must be paired with proactive outreach and support, especially for those in younger age groups who are currently underrepresented in screening programmes.”
Lowering the screening age is consistent with what the evidence has been telling us. Rates of colorectal cancer before age 50 have been increasing, with Māori experiencing faster growth compared to non-Māori. Findings published in the New Zealand Medical Journal show Māori are more likely to be diagnosed before screening begins, highlighting the urgency of earlier, equity-focused intervention.
Te Tiratū IMPB says it will continue to work alongside iwi, Hauora providers and hapori across the Waikato to ensure the expansion of bowel screening delivers meaningful gains for Māori.
“This is an opportunity to do things differently. We support the intent to extend access, but success will be measured by whether it actually reduces inequity. That requires sustained focus, investment, and accountability.”
[1] Source: https://tetiratu.co.nz/2024/09/30/hauora-maori-priorities/
Ngāti Kahungunu and Māori health partners unite to shape new iwi health authority
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday 19 March 2026, 10:00 AM
2 minutes to Read
Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated (NKII) is proud to announce a formal commitment to work collectively with Hauora Māori service providers, regional Taiwhenua, Post-Settlement Governance Entities (PSGEs), and the Tihei Takitimu Iwi Māori Partnership Board to advance the establishment of the Kahungunu Health Authority (KHA).
Since an initial announcement in September 2025, these parties have collaborated to bring clarity to how the KHA could operate as a separate, independent body designed to achieve better outcomes for whānau.
The KHA will be established to supplement, rather than duplicate, the work of the existing regional Māori health entities. While these entities work from within the public health system to support and deliver health services, and influence investment and accountability, the KHA sits outside the system.
This independence gives it strategic freedom to design and scale innovative models of care, partner with private sector operators, and mobilize iwi resources in a way the public sector system may be too risk-averse to adopt.
Bayden Barber, Chair of Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Inc, emphasises the need for this dual-tiered approach.
“The health sector is in crisis, and our statistics continue to languish. By standing together with our regional partners, we’re creating a powerful political force grounded in rangatiratanga. NKII remains the constitutional voice for Treaty and cultural matters, while the KHA carries the technical expertise and political freedom to challenge the system and demand better opportunities and outcomes for our people.”
Central to this development will be a dedicated working group of twenty-five whānau members who expressed their commitment during recent wānanga to help drive the kaupapa forward. This group will ensure the design of the KHA remains rooted in the voices and aspirations of the people it serves.
Speaking on behalf of all parties, Tihei Takitimu Co-Chairs Kerri Nuku and Lewis Ratapu highlighted the critical importance of unity in the current climate.
“At a time when the rights and interests of Māori are being constantly challenged, kotahitanga is our greatest strength. We must move forward together to protect the health of our people.
Our role will be to ensure the public system lifts its performance and remains accountable, while the KHA pushes the horizon of what’s possible from the outside. Together, we create a ‘productive tension’ that ensures the system never settles for ‘good enough’.”
The parties will work on a robust governance structure that harnesses the deep knowledge and networks of Hauora providers and PSGEs to ensure all voices are amplified. This unified front positions Kahungunu as a leader shaping the future of Māori health on its own terms.
Pae Ora Bill weakens Māori voice, erodes accountability
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday 4 March 2026, 4:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, representing over 121,000 Māori in the greater Waikato region, warns that the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Amendment Bill threatens to sideline Māori authority and strip Te Tiriti protections from New Zealand’s health system.
“This government talks about strengthening Māori voices, but these amendments sideline our authority. Iwi Māori Partnership Boards exist to ensure equity and accountability in health not just to provide advice when convenient. We need genuine power, not paper pathways,” said Te Tiratū Co-Chair Tipa Mahuta.
Drawing on the value of locality evidence from its Community Health Plan, Hauora Māori Priorities Summary, and Monitoring Reports on Te Whatu Ora, Te Tiratū believes weakening Section 30 of the Act reduces Māori decision-making, strip Te Tiriti protections, and deepen existing health inequities leading to poorer health outcomes for whānau.
“Our reports clearly show that iwi-led solutions improve access, outcomes, and efficiency across health services. From chronic disease management to cancer screening, the evidence demonstrates that local, Māori-led planning works. Yet the proposed reforms ignore this capability entirely.”
During last night’s debate, Te Pāti Māori MP Hana Maipi-Clark representing the Hauraki-Waikato Māori electorate warned that the Bill removes Māori influence and accountability from health governance.
“Iwi Māori Partnership Boards represent the community voice and Māori-led structures that ensure equity and accountability in our health system and this bill removes their influence.”
“Clause six removes the duty to maintain systems capable of understanding mātauranga Māori, kaupapa Māori services, and cultural safety and clause 33 strips equity and Te Tiriti expertise from public health advisory structures, including the Iwi Māori Partnership Boards. This is not tidying up legislation; it is dismantling accountability.”
Green MP Hūhana Lyndon added that IMPBs were originally designed to co-steer the system alongside Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority and Te Whatu Ora, but the amendments push them into the “back seat”:
While Labour argued “Why is the Government scared of local health services having to turn up to an iwi board and explain why they are not achieving outcomes for Māori? That is community accountability.”
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board point to the power of locally-led Māori responses during COVID-19 that were faster and more effective than centralised approaches.
“Our work shows the same principle applies across ongoing health inequities: whānau-led, evidence-driven governance delivers results,” Mahuta said.
Te Tiratū emphasises that Māori economic development depends on healthy, supported whānau. Empowered IMPBs drive workforce development, innovation, and local health infrastructure investment, aligning with Government economic goals.
“IMPBs play a critical role in ensuring Māori voices and mātauranga Māori shape health decision-making. Te Tiratū’s monitoring and priority reports provide actionable insights that improve outcomes and deliver stronger returns on taxpayer investment,” Mahuta said.
“The Crown’s duty to partner with iwi under Te Tiriti o Waitangi is non-negotiable. Reducing the role of the IMPBs risks repeating decades of systemic failure and wasted resources.”