The Post: Public healthcare is a taonga and a Treaty obligation

Health Minister Simeon Brown’s directive to Health New Zealand to expand the outsourcing of elective surgeries and to lock that outsourcing into longer term private contracts is being framed as pragmatic and necessary. From a Te Tiriti o Waitangi perspective, it is neither.

Public healthcare in Aotearoa is not simply a service delivery model. It is a taonga. It is a collective expression of responsibility, care, and shared wellbeing. Most importantly, it is a Treaty obligation. Decisions about how health services are funded, governed, and delivered cannot be separated from the constitutional foundations of this country."

Louisa Wall, Chair of Tūwharetoa Iwi Māori Partnership Board and executive member of Kaitiaki Hauora explains why the Government cannot and must not outsource its obligations for public health under Te Tiriti.

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https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360941813/public-healthcare-taonga-and-treaty-obligation