Stories by Meriana Johnsen
News
'Judith just doesn't get the point' - Māori health leader
"Hypocritical" and "a distraction" is how some Māori health leaders have described National leader Judith Collins' comments that a Māori Health Authority is "racist separatism".
Māori Health Authority must include holistic wellbeing - Ngāi Tahu health provider
A Southern iwi health provider wants the new Māori Health Authority to fund services that encompass all of hauora, not just GP visits. Audio
Māori Health Authority: Details of funding, commissioning rights sought
Māori medical professionals and health advocates are "mildly optimistic" after the announcement that tangata whenua will have their own health body with the power to decide what services to fund.
Call for more Māori, Pasifika businesses to be awarded government contracts
The government needs to change its procurement strategy and award bigger contracts to Māori and Pasifika businesses, a company that helps these companies obtain work through the public sector has…
'Clear' inequity for Māori in health care - report
An urgent DHB-wide review is being called for to understand why rangatahi Māori are far more likely to die after significant trauma than non-Māori.
Smokefree group says cigarette purchase age would not dent smoking rates
The government's plan to progressively increase the legal purchase age for cigarettes to stop the next generation from smoking does not have the support of a smokefree group.
Minister questioned over police photographing Māori
The Māori Party is demanding the police minister stop racism within the force, after the police watchdog found a wāhine Māori had her photo unlawfully taken.
Ministers confident no taxpayer money used in Māori Party donations
Government ministers are confident no taxpayer money was caught up in donations to the Māori Party that have been referred to police for not being declared in time.
'Unregulated' Covid-19 vaccinators creates 'yet a further inequity gap'
The largest nurses union has raised concerns about non-clinical staff giving Covid-19 vaccinations, saying it stems from a long-standing failure by the Ministry of Health to recruit more Māori nurses. Audio
Wairarapa hapū overwhelmed by crowd funding support to buy whenua
A Wairarapa hapū has been overwhelmed by support for their crowd funding campaign to raise half-a-million dollars to buy back land their rangatira was born on and where many of their tīpuna are…
'We have people that are still running off paper-based systems' - Māori health leader
Māori health leaders have welcomed the news non-clinical workers will be trained to administer the Covid-19 vaccine, but there are still concerns funding won't cover IT upgrades desperately needed.
Study shows poverty accounts for more Māori being victims of crime
Poverty continues to be the major reason why Māori are the victims of crime more often than non-Māori, a new study has revealed.
Training on way so kaimahi can handle Covid-19 vaccinations
The Director-General of Health has confirmed Māori health workers will be trained to administer the Covid-19 vaccine.
Advocates push for HPV self-testing after Allan cancer diagnosis
Cabinet Minister Kiri Allan's shock cancer diagnosis has highlighted the need for Māori women to get a cervical smear, that could save their life and reverse the shocking statistics.
Ngāti Hinerangi Treaty of Waitangi settlement passes into law
The iwi will receive more than $8.1 million in financial redress, a $200,000 cultural fund, $20,000 for a marae rebuild, the return of 14 sites of cultural significance and an apology.
Concern at High Court use of tikanga to overule Waitangi Tribunal
Some in the Māori legal community have expressed concern at the High Court's use of tikanga to overule the Waitangi Tribunal, and questioned whether it has the expertise to do this.
Anticipation building for independent Māori health authority
The creation of a long-awaited independent Māori health authority has picked up pace, with a draft of the agency set to go to Cabinet in the coming weeks.
Some Māori health leaders unimpressed with vaccine rollout plan
The Covid-19 vaccine rollout plan is under attack from some Māori health leaders who say it isn't based on evidence or achieving equity.
Government's housing policies 'not working for Māori' - provider
There's frustration from Māori housing providers that government measures to cool the housing market do nothing to directly fix the issues facing tangata whenua.
Māori homelessness: 'There's no human face, patience and empathy'
The government needs to apologise for failing to ensure Māori have adequate housing, and ignoring the problem for so long, the Waitangi Tribunal has been told.
Taihape College farm cannot be released by government - Treaty Negotiations Minister
There is no way a Taihape farm - which locals contest should never have been declared surplus land and put in the landbank for Treaty settlement - can be released, the Treaty Negotiations Minister…
Whakatāne Mill closure: 'People are racing around looking for jobs now'
A worker at one of Whakatāne's biggest employers has warned at least half of the 200 people being made redundant will struggle to find work.
Māori must decide for themselves on Covid-19 vaccine - Waititi
Māori MPs are reluctant to tell Māori they should get the Covid-19 injection, saying it's about mana motuhake and whānau have the right to choose. Audio
Use of te reo Māori on radio, TV 'shouldn't be threatening'
The Broadcasting Standards Authority's decision to no longer take complaints from people upset about the use of te reo Māori on-air and on-screen has been welcomed.
Conversion therapy ban petition: Takatāpui 'inherent to our culture'
Takatāpui are still fighting to stop churches harming their people after colonisation aimed to strip Māori and Pacific gender and sexual identities.