Northland Māori providers to tap into a slice of nearly $70m

Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare announces the $30 million in funding towards helping improve Māori health outcomes in Northland. Photo / Imran Ali Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland will get a slice of nearly $70 million in taxpayer funding towards improving the health and economic wellbeing of Māori.

In Whangārei on Friday, Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare announced $30m to help Māori health providers pay for initiatives such as mobile clinics in hard-to-reach places across Northland, buy stocks and fund and strengthen infrastructure such as administration blocks, and for the hiring and retention of trained workforce.

The amount of funding will depend on bids for initiatives submitted by Māori health providers in Northland.

"For some, it looks like building a whare, for others it's like a mobile clinic to get out into the far reaches of Pipiwai, Matawai or wherever it might be. For others, it might mean we need to build our administration strength to be able to be stronger in the way we deliver health services," Henare said.

"For far too long, you've all scrimped, saved, borrowed and begged for simple capital projects.

"What we need to do is to make sure resources and the ability to execute the aspirations of our people were funded here, led out of here, locally amongst our whānau."

The procurement pipeline in health was huge but it has never been available to Māori, but rather to hospitals and those big infrastructure projects, he said.

Ngāti Hine, Ki A Ora Ngātiwai, Te Hiku Hauora and the Te Hau Āwhiowhio ō Ōtangarei Trust are among Māori health providers that will benefit from the $30m funding allocation.

Dental services were another important initiative Henare said he was keen to see Māori have greater access to in Northland.

Mahitahi Hauora chief executive Jensen Webber said the opportunity for Māori health providers to have access to capital funds to develop what they've been working towards for 30 years was welcomed.

There were opportunities everywhere and access to services such as mobile clinics was critical, he said.

Northland is also poised to benefit from $27.6m in funding over the next four years to support research and innovation in the Māori economy nationwide.

The Te Pae Tawhiti programme, which supports research and innovation in the Maori economy, is getting a further $27.6m investment over the next four years.

The funding will enable Māori businesses to use Māori knowledge to diversify Aotearoa's exports through targeted investment.

Priorities include developing a domestic bioprospecting regime — the search for plant and animal species from which medicinal drugs, biochemicals and other commercially valuable material can be obtained.

Another $10m will be allocated throughout the country to help whānau, hapū and iwi create income opportunities.

Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson said there continued to be barriers and inequities such as difficulties resulting from complex ownership structures, landlocked land, and legislative restrictions that prevented Māori from realising the potential of their whanau.