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I submit that the proposal to create a Maori Health Authority and
Iwi-Maori partnership boards should be deleted from the Bill.
I say this after having read the text of the lecture "Pae
Ora: Maori Health Horizons" by Professor Sir Mason Durie.
My reasons are as follows:
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This is a very short and unacademic document. However, the
author is apparently what passes for the most prominent Maori theoretician
on Maori health and this document appears to be the closest available
approximation to a theoretical argument for the proposed changes
to Maori health delivery.
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Maori health, as measured by longevity, is already improving under
the current system. On page 3, Durie states:
"Importantly over the past 25 years there has been a significant
increase in Maori life expectancy.... Moreover, whereas the
difference between Maori and non-Maori life expectancies was increasing
during the 1980s and 1990s..., by 2002 there were signs that the
gap was narrowing...."
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If we project the increase in Maori life expectancy cited by the
Professor Durie, we see that by 2035 Maori women will have an average
life expectancy of 79 years and Maori men an average life expectancy
of 73.4 years.
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I can see no evidence in this document that the proposed changes
will actually improve Maori health.
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The main motivation for the proposed changes seems to be political
-- to siphon off tax money from the non-Maori majority and give
it to Maoris to use, as they see fit. That is theft!
There should be no taxation without representation. On page
1, Professor Durie states:
"Yet despite the uncertainties ahead and the rapidly
changing nature of New Zealand society, Pae Ora concludes
that Maori health will be a function of Maori determination and
Maori know-how."
However, he gives no evidence to justify this conclusion.
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There is nothing in the Treaty of Waitangi or its principles which
authorises the diminution of the Crown's authority over Maoris --
especially at the expense of the non-Maori taxpayers in the population.
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Maori know-how in health is limited by the small Maori population
base, the relatively small (but probably growing) number of Maoris
who obtain educational qualifications and the relatively small (but
probably growing) number of Maoris with qualifications in health
disciplines.
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There is no evidence in this document that traditional Maori medicine
(any more than traditional Chinese medicine or Western herbal or
other supplements) is a useful supplement or replacement for mainstream
medicine.
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For all we know, traditional Maori medicine may be one cause of
Maoris' relatively bad health statistics.
See also:
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