PRESS RELEASE – 20/05/21
National Hauora Coalition welcomes the Government’s partnership budget
The Budget announced today by the Government shows a significant commitment to whānau wellbeing and a strong willingness to partner with Māori to effect real change in Māori health. The National Hauora Coalition (NHC) welcomes the broad range of initiatives across health, housing, domestic violence, education, language, justice reform as a strong signal of this Government’s commitment to a wider hauora (wellbeing) approach.
NHC Chief Executive, Simon Royal, said: “We have to celebrate that this Government is making the level of investment required to improve Māori health that we, and our other partners in hauora Māori, have long been advocating for. Investing in Māori health will in turn save our country billions of dollars. This is a win-win for everyone.”
“There is a growing sense of partnership between the Government and Māori. NHC is ready to support that, and we’re looking forward to providing input and our experiences working on Māori health inequity, into both the establishment of the new Māori Health Authority, and into the broader health sector reform.”
Mr Royal said the announcement of funding for a national IT health infrastructure is to be applauded. “We have already significantly invested into technology through our Mōhio platform which provides real time data on health and wellbeing programmes. It is time for such technology to have a wider application.”
Mr Royal said the funding announced in the budget to establish the Māori Health Authority is the start of the long journey to give Māori the same chance to life as other New Zealanders. He added ”however, we are confident that we have a Government who want to walk alongside Māori and who want to put whānau at the centre of wellbeing. That is what will make the real difference.”
About National Hauora Coalition
NHC exists to support whānau to achieve hauora. Our vision is mana whānau, whānau ora and we are a lead advocate for hauora Māori (Wai 2687) through the Waitangi Tribunal Health Services Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575). In our day-to-day activities, we partner with a wide range of agencies, Iwi and industry groups to commission and deliver a broad range of indigenously designed health and social services to improve health outcomes for Māori, achieve health equity and greater social cohesion for the benefit of Aotearoa.
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For further information please contact:
James Spencer
+64 21 243 2486
jamess@20.211.111.174
