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Regional | Māori Health

Wai 2575 claimants move step closer to resolving health underfunding grievances

Source / NZ Herald

A long-standing rōpū of Wai 2575 health claimants are a step closer to closing the final chapter on underfunding grievances with the Crown.

The claimants - who first filed a claim with the Waitangi Tribunal in 2005 - met this week with health ministers Andrew Little and Peeni Henare, together with government officials.

The National Urban Māori Authority says it was the first opportunity to hear the ministers’ responses to a report prepared by health economists for the independent research group, Sapere, and to attempt to resolve the unfinished parts of the contemporary claim centred on historic health inequities.

“This is about resetting and recalibrating how Māori health is valued. Not just now, but as we head decades into the future,” chair of the urban Māori authority, Lady Tureiti Moxon, said.

Talks canvassed the impact of underfunding that caused the demise of many kaupapa Māori providers and why the capitalisation calculation formula does not work.

The next steps being progressed between parties are addressing the last remaining recommendations by the Waitangi Tribunal.  These relate to how the Crown deals with the historic underfunding of Māori primary health providers and Māori service providers and an apology.