On Monday, 17th February, the Hauora Taiwhenua Board co-hosted a Rural Māori Health Summit alongside our Te Tiriti partners, Te Rōpū Ārahi. We were joined by a number of our members, Māori health stakeholders, senior health officials and politicians.
Our strength as public advocates for rural health was demonstrated by the line-up of keynote speakers invited to share updates on progress toward improving Māori health in rural communities. Ministers Matt Doocey and Mark Patterson underscored the importance of this kaupapa by attending despite it being a sitting day in Parliament.
The Hon. Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities, opened the Summit by acknowledging—both personally and politically—the urgent need to support frontline healthcare professionals. He did not shy away from the reality that the health system is under immense stress.
Expressing his deep admiration for rural healthcare workers, he emphasised their critical role as both the first and last line of defence. He stressed that the current “postcode lottery” in healthcare access is unacceptable and that a better way forward is needed. Access to education, improving connectivity (roads and digitally), and access to quality healthcare are foundational commitments that this government wants grounded in qualitative and quantitative evidence.
In closing, Minister Patterson noted, “Getting it right will be transformational.”
Dr. Grant Davidson then raised the issue of resource challenges facing rural communities. The clear evidence is that Māori in rural areas have the worst health outcomes and, therefore, the greatest need. Appropriate resources need to be allocated to that high need. In response, Minister Patterson spoke candidly about the delicate balance of ensuring equity for rural Māori and the broader interpretation and biases that persist across New Zealand.
John Whaanga, Deputy Director-General of Māori Health at the Ministry of Health, provided an update on the progress toward achieving the goals of the Māori Health Strategy and Rural Health Strategy. He began by reinforcing a fundamental principle: “Māori health should remain a priority.”
Underpinned with evidence, substructure information, quantifiable results, and outcomes, Whaanga emphasised that the key drivers behind the continued implementation of the Māori Health Strategy will shape purposeful progress over the next decade.
Beginning his speech with personal reflections and gratitude for the care his parents recently received whilst both in hospital over the summer, Minister Doocey highlighted key work being done by the rural team at Health New Zealand focusing on outcomes, current pilot programs and a pledge to do a rural roadshow.
Dr Grant Davidson jumped on this offer stating, “We will give you 10 rural communities to visit and 10 outcomes we want Health New Zealand to achieve over the next eighteen months.” Minister Doocey restated Minister Simeon Brown’s focus on digital solutions and telehealth as a means to achieve better outcomes. Dr Fiona Bolden, Chair Hauora Taiwhenua, stressed that “telehealth can be a useful tool for certain people and certain conditions. However, it doesn’t provide continuity of care that research clearly shows extends life expectancy. It also is less applicable for patients with complex co-morbidities which is often the case for rural Māori.”
The post-presentation discussion took a candid turn, following Minister Doocey’s lead in speaking openly about challenges. Topics ranged from the experiences of allied health workers and maternity care to workforce development barriers, health literacy, the use of the GCH, and the need for training in cultural safety.
Jade Sewell, Head of Hauora Māori Service Development at Health New Zealand, brought attendees back to the core principles of the Māori Health Strategy: Māori voice, leadership, self-determination, and access to services.
She shared updates on key initiatives, including the expansion of the remote patient monitoring pilot to four locations and the growth of Kia Piki te Ora, the Suicide Prevention programme, which now partners with twenty-three organisations. Sewell also highlighted geo-based health services, such as those implemented at the Silver Fern Farms plant in Balclutha, and the prioritisation of Kaumātua in healthcare planning.
Her presentation refocused the discussion on rural communities, prompting a key question: “What is the value-add of smaller programmes?”
For the Opposition, Huhana Lyndon, Green Party Spokesperson for Health, highlighted the importance of workforce development and shared rural stories from health and social care training in Tairāwhiti and Māori nursing training in Wairoa. Lyndon touched on the loss of institutional knowledge that comes from an ageing or burn-out workforce that steadily reduces in size, as well as the challenges of urgent care in rural communities and on marae.
New member of Te Rōpū Ārahi, Jennie Bell, and Whānau Whānui Chair Tania Chamberlain, reflected on Māori Health from across the Rohe, setting the pace for the workshop that followed.
The key takeaways from each presentation highlighted the five priorities of Pae Tū – Māori Health Strategy:
The team at Hauora Taiwhenua are currently writing up the learnings from the day, including the requests for targeted actions that are to be passed on to Minister Doocey. These will be shared with our membership when complete.
We look forward to working with staff from the Ministry in planning the proposed rural roadshow with Minister Doocey, where rural health professionals will be able to meet with the Minister and workshop ideas to improve health services for their communities.
Special thanks to Margareth Broodkoorn and Dr Fiona Bolden for their role as MCs at the Summit and to Ngāti Poneke and Pipitea Marae for their warm hospitality.
