National Hauora Coalition Welcomes Māori Representation In The Border Review

We welcome the appointment of the National Hauora Coalition’s (NHC) Clinical Director, Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen, to the Border Review Group as announced yesterday by the Minister of Health, Hon Chris Hipkins.

We acknowledge this as an indication of the Government’s commitment to working with Māori going forward on the pandemic response. As Simon Royal, NHC CEO, said “given NHC’s public position on our concerns regarding the Border Review Group makeup, and our challenge to the Government that they use this as an opportunity to showcase their commitment to being an authentic Treaty-partner, this is a clear step forward”.

In accepting the role in the Border Review Group, Dr Jansen’s primary focus for the review is “…equity. We must turn talk into action. I want to see us move quickly from discussing what is wrong with our border processes that puts so many Māori and Pacific Islanders at added risk because of their frontline roles and vulnerability to the virus, to delivering equity, whether that be in access to testing, treatment or managed isolation”.

NHC remains committed to Te Tiriti O Waitangi and advocating for an equitable, Treaty compliant, health and disability system where the Treaty partners recognise and respect each other’s rights and obligations. We look forward to continuing to work with the Government to achieve this.

About National Hauora Coalition

The NHC kaupapa is mana whānau, whānau ora and is a lead advocate for hauora Māori (Wai 2687) through the Waitangi Tribunal Health Services Kaupapa Inquiry (Wai 2575). In its day to day activities NHC partners 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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