Maori Party launches health policy

Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell lauching the party's health policy today.

Under 18-year-olds receiving free health care and scrapping GST on healthy foods are part of the Maori Party health policy launched in Rotorua.

Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell made their announcement today at health and social service provider Tipu Ora in Ohinemutu. He said poverty was a major underlying cause of ill health.

"We are the only party in Parliament to have ever called for a Ministerial Committee on Poverty and that's something we're proud of," Mr Flavell said.

"Because of the committee, we were able to negotiated the insulation of 100,000 homes, free GP visits for Under 13s, kickstart breakfast available in every school and fund the prevention and treatment of rheumatic fever. You can't make those kind of gains on the Opposition benches."

Mr Flavell said Tipu Ora embodied the Maori Party's approach to improving the nation's health.

"Our policy is focused on creating and enabling wellness. So we will continue to support whanau and communities to grow their own maara kai (vegetable gardens) and harvest kaimoana (seafood). We want to revisit the scrapping of GST on healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables and the viability of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages like soft drinks."

Other key policies included increasing the number of bariatric (weight reduction) surgeries to at least 1000 each year to address obesity, heart disease and diabetes and implementing Maori medicine and practices into the Health Act.
They also wanted to:
- Increase the number of kaupapa Maori youth and whanau services that address alcohol and drug addiction and mental health

- Increasing the investment in rheumatic fever such as insulating low income homes, ensuring Housing NZ homes have a bach or extra rooms to address over-crowding and reduce power bills by 50 percent for whanau who have rheumatic fever
- Extend the pathways to smoke-free Aotearoa by 2025 Innovation Fund to fund innovative projects to help reach the Government's goal of being Smokefree by 2025

Some health groups such as Te Ohu Rata (the Maori Medical Practitioners Association) and Quitline have expressed concern about what the departure of Maori Party Co-leader Tariana Turia from Parliament will mean for Maori health. Ms Turia was the Associate Minister of Health, the Minister of Disabilities and Whanau Ora.

"I want to assure the public and health groups that if Maori Party MPs and I are elected in to the next Parliament we will do everything within our power to uphold and build on the gains we've made in health," Mr Flavell said.