The Waitangi Tribunal

On Friday 29 November 2024, the Tribunal released Hautupua: Te Aka Whai Ora (Maaori Health Authority) Priority Report, Part 1 in pre-publication format. The report was the result of a priority inquiry granted in May 2024 into claims concerning the Crown’s disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority. These claims were previously the subject of an urgent inquiry that was vacated when the Crown introduced the Pae Ora (Disestablishment of Māori Health Authority) Amendment Bill on 27 February. The panel for the inquiry was Judge Damian Stone (presiding), Professor Susy Frankel FRSNZ, Professor Tom Roa, Tania Simpson ONZM, and Linda Tuhiwai Smith CNZM.

The Tribunal decided to inquire into and report on the priority claims in two parts: the first part concerns the disestablishment and its impacts only. The second part will focus on the Crown’s alternative plans for Māori health. Part 1 of the Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority) priority inquiry was conducted on the papers with no in-person hearing.

The Tribunal found that the Crown breached the principles of tino rangatiratanga, kāwanatanga, good government, partnership, active protection, and redress. The Crown did not act in good faith when disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora as it did not consult with Māori. Without consulting its Tiriti/Treaty partner and without substantive advice from officials, the Crown decided that Te Aka Whai Ora was not required, despite knowledge of grave Māori health inequities.

Māori did not agree with the Crown’s decisions but were denied the right to self-determine what is best for them and hauora Māori. Instead, the Crown implemented its own agenda – one based on political ideology, rather than evidence – without even following its own process for the development and implementation of legislative reform. As the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora was a form of redress for the Crown’s long-standing failure to reflect tino rangatiratanga in the health system, its unilateral decision to remove effectively took that redress away. The Tribunal found that these Tiriti/Treaty breaches caused significant prejudice to Māori.

The Tribunal recommended that the Crown commit to revisiting the option of a stand-alone Māori health authority, consult extensively with Māori in the development of any alternative plans, and always undertake proper regulatory impact analysis in matters that affect Māori health.