MEDIA STATEMENT

Embargoed until 3pm 12 August 2014

Championing healthy lives and helping whānau in need

The Māori Party launched its health policy today that builds on the groundbreaking work achieved by the Māori Party since it became part of the Government six years ago. The Māori Party recognises poverty is 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”, says Māori Party Co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell.

“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.”

The health policy launch was held at Tipu Ora in Rotorua, a centre that integrates a wide range of primary health, social and education services for all people in the Rotorua region.

Mr Flavell says Tipu Ora embodies the Māori Party’s approach to improving the nation’s health.

“Our policy is focused on creating and enabling wellness. So we will continue to support whānau and communities to grow their own māra 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”, says Mr Flavell.

Other key policies include:

• advocating for free GP visits and free prescriptions for children aged under 18 years

• prioritising oral health including instigating an annual health check for low income families and advocating for free dental care for all students and community service card holders

• reviewing the Health Act to ensure implementation of rongoā Māori

• increasing the number of bariatric (weight reduction) surgeries to at least 1000 per annum to address obesity, heart disease and diabetes

• increasing the number of kaupapa Māori Youth and Whānau 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 whānau 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

• complete the introduction of plain packaging legislation and introduce a promotion campaign to prevent smoking in cars with children.

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

“I want to assure the public and health groups that if Māori 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,” says Mr Flavell.

The full Māori Party Health Policy is online www.maoriparty.org/our-policies

Health_Policy__Maori_Party_2014.pdf

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