MEDIA RELEASE: Pou Tangata Co-Chairs disgusted as Government fast-track Te Pae Ora legislation without due process

“It is dishonourable when we come to learn about the rushed actions undertaken by the Government to pass the Amendments to the Te Pae Ora Bill and accelerate the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority is a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi,” says Rahui Papa, Co-Chair of Pou Tangata.

The introduction of this legislation under urgency is alarming for the National Iwi Chairs Forum. Whānau, hapū and Iwi must be the architects of their own healthy futures, as established in the founding documents of our nation; He Whakaputanga o te Rangatiratanga o Nu Tireni (Declaration of Independence) and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

The fast-tracking of the Te Pae Ora amendment Bill shows a deliberate intent by the Government to ignore whānau, hapū and Iwi rights as they reject due process of public consultation or discussion.

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