Whanganui Māori health provider Te Oranganui concerned over Government rollbacks

Te Oranganui chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata says there is uncertainty about what changes to the health sector will look like under the new Government. Photo / Bevan Conley

The axing of Te Aka Whai Ora — the Māori Health Authority — and smokefree legislation is a cause of unease for Whanganui Māori health provider Te Oranganui.

The new Government has said Te Aka Whai Ora hasn’t produced worthwhile results and Māori health outcomes will be improved by its removal.

Te Oranganui chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata said majority of Te Oranganui’s contracts sat with Te Aka Whai Ora.

“If there is no Māori Health Authority, we presume that all of those contracts will transfer back to Te Whatu Ora, and what does that look like?” she said.

Walsh-Tapiata said the strong relationship that had been built with Te Aka Whai Ora meant there was an “understanding of the issues of this community and region”.

“As opposed to someone who sits in Wellington.”

A lot of rhetoric had emerged about the coalition Government’s position on health funding, but there was uncertainty about what the changes would look like, she said.

“Dame Tariana Turia was the instigator of the smokefree policy in Parliament, and Te Oranganui has continued to advocate for preventing the negative health outcomes of smoking.”

The “proof would be in the pudding” to see if smoking rates still went down with the removal of that legislation, but it was really concerning what that might look like in terms of backtracking, Walsh-Tapiata said.

“At the end of the day, I have to say that the populations we serve are most affected.”

The new Government has agreed to do away laws that restrict the number of retailers allowed to sell cigarettes, ban those born after 2008 from buying them and cut the amount of nicotine allowed in tobacco.

Walsh-Tapiata said Te Oranganui needed to figure out a way to manoeuvre within the political environment to ensure there the best outcomes for whānau are acheived.

“Even if you base it on need, then we should have a level of security because we deal with some of those whānau that are most affected by health issues.”

It was positive that Health Minister Dr Shane Reti was a practising general practitioner and had visited Te Oranganui, she said.

“Of course, he is simply one person in the midst of a political beast in terms of the positions and coalition agreements.

“We have to wait and see.”

There was a level of nervousness not just in the Māori iwi health sector, but right across the community, she said.

“If I took the position of what it’s like for whānau, I want to find a way in which they can continue to be respected and grow, particularly within their cultural positioning and worldview.”

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.