Campaigners blindsided by accelerated axing of Māori Health Authority

Māori health campaigners say the Crown acted in bad faith when a last-minute date change to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority put their chances of a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry in jeopardy.

Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka were granted an urgent claim by the tribunal whether axing the agency went against treaty principles of tino rangatiratanga.

The hearing was previously set to begin on February 29, in recognition of the government’s plans to bring the legislation in by March 8.

But a memo from Crown lawyers on the night of February 22 alerted claimants the legislation could be tabled in Parliament as soon as Tuesday of next week – potentially cutting the hearing off at its knees. If a Bill is before the House, the tribunal is prevented by law from conducting an inquiry into it.

“Notwithstanding the recent events that have impacted Parliament, counsel is instructed that introduction of the Bill could occur as early as 27 February 2024,” wrote Crown Law.

A Friday hearing was assembled quickly to determine whether the claimants could make their case before this new deadline, with Waitangi Tribunal Judge Kaiwhakawaa Damian Stone directing the Crown to give an update on whether the date can be delayed.

“I acknowledge that these matters may be out of the Crown’s hands and veer into the political sphere, especially given that the order that Government bills are introduced into the House is determined by the Office of the Leader of the House,” he said.

“However, to enable the Government to have the benefit of the outcomes of the Tribunal’s inquiry, and any associated findings and recommendations, the Crown may consider deferring the introduction of this legislation until the week ending 8 March 2024.”

Judge Stone said he was concerned the shorter timeframe could negatively impact the hearing process.

“I am concerned that any further effort to truncate the hearing process in order to release a final decision by 27 February 2024 would risk the inquiry’s ability to conduct a reasonable and just hearing process.”

With possibly just a matter of days before the end of Te Aka Whai Ora becoming a done deal, the claimants are contending Māori are unable to have tino rangatiratanga over their health due to the move by the Government to remove the agency.

Lady Tureiti said there was no prior indication from the Crown that the legislation could be passed as soon as next Tuesday.

“There is no good faith in what the Crown has done,” she said.

“The Crown were asked by the Waitangi Tribunal in its directive as to when they anticipated that the Bill would introduced to Parliament.

“The Crown basically said anytime between now and 8 March, so they didn’t indicate it was imminent at all, or give the Tribunal a courtesy heads-up until last night right on the eve of giving evidence due today, when they sent the memo saying that it will be February 27.”

She said there had been no transparency from the Crown despite the tribunal being open in its communication.

“I believe that they’ve been very dismissive of the whole claim from day one and they haven’t really provided the information that the Waitangi Tribunal have asked for,” she said.

Before the legislation was moved forward, Moxon said she was pleased to be granted an urgent claim and strengthened in her resolve thanks to three other claimants and 28 interested parties filing in support.

Meanwhile, co-claimant Janice Kuka, Managing Director of a Māori PHO, Ngā Mataapuna Oranga, and Chair of Turuki called the Māori health authority the “closest tino rangatiratanga-compliant model we’ve ever had historically”.

“It promised us a pathway through Te Aka Whai Ora to equitable health outcomes for our people. Now we will lose that ability.”

The initial hope of the claimants was to make the case that repealing Te Aka Whai Ora was a breach of treaty principles.

The tribunal stressed the need to stick to deadlines because of the short timeframe before the legislation was expected to come into play, saying extension requests for late filing would not be granted.

Then those timeframes shortened even more, with Crown lawyers signalling the legislation could be enacted as early as Tuesday.

The National-led Government’s intention to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora was outlined in the 100-day plan released by the coalition Government on November 29, 2023. The Government’s first 100 days in office ends on March 9, a day after the initial deadline it set itself to axe Te Aka Whai Ora.

“There’s no justice, there’s no good faith, there’s no transparency,” Moxon said.

“This whole process has engendered distrust in the Government. They’re just going ahead, irrespective of what anybody else thinks, yet we are their treaty partner, and they need to be reminded of that and shouldn’t be just ignored.”