Tariana Turia

11 May, 2009
Working alongside healthcare organizations

I came across some words from the late Rongo Wi Repa which I wanted to share with us all today,

Tatai tangata ki te whenua, ka ngaro, ka ngaro;

Tatai whetu me te Rangi, ka mau tonu, ka mau tonu

People live and pass on

but the land and stars in the universe remain forever.

Rongo was someone who had a gentle wisdom in his words, a way of reminding us that whatever we do now should pave the way for those we leave behind.

It is about all of us working collectively, to honour the foundations laid by those who were here before us.

And so as I travelled here this morning to the Great Lakes Centre I thought about some of the people who have lived and passed on; who taught us so much by their messages of inspiration; the legacy of their practice and their example.

Rongoa is one of the gifts of te Ao Maori that connects us to those who have gone before us; it connects us to the pre-colonial traditions and knowledge that was here; mana motuhake mai ra ano.

And so I was really pleased to be here today, at this celebration of rongoa Maori, and all of the services, healthcare organizations and funders that are acting in ways to support our traditional healers.

This is an important hui, to move our thinking outwards, to embrace the goal of integrated care.

It is a particular pleasure to welcome Chris Kavelin and Dr Paolo Morisco as international guests to this hui.

The experience that Dr Morisco will be able to share from his time in managing the project on Traditional Bhutanese Medicine will be of special relevance to this time.

The Maori Party has had a long-held interest in the developments occurring in Bhutan, and now in my capacity as Associate Minister of Health, I can see exciting connections that can be made in developing the wider interests of hauora.

The people of Bhutan have led the world in their development of an index called Gross National Happiness.

In short, the Royal Government of Bhutan came to the conclusion that consumer driven economic growth has been at the expense of the spiritual wellbeing, the cultural authenticity and the environmental health of the nation. And so they decided to reprioritize the indicators of their success, by instead placing happiness as the central outcome to drive their development onwards.

The key measures of Gross National Happiness are seen in nine key factors:

* Standard of living

* Health of population

* Education

* Vitality and diversity of ecosystem

* Cultural vitality and diversity

* Use and balance of time

* Good governance

* Community vitality

* Emotional wellbeing.

If these principles sound familiar, I would suggest there is a great deal of similarity between what the Bhutanese might measure in the index of Gross National Happiness; and what we know as kaupapa Maori.

Rongoa Maori, or traditional Maori healing, has, intuitively, known the value of gross national happiness. In the range of healing practices which you deliver, the strength is consistently underpinned in the philosophies we hold as tangata whenua of wellbeing.

The fundamental importance of ritenga and karakia is upheld as the essence of matauranga Maori and tikanga Maori associated with rongoa.

The approach our traditional healers take in the practice of rongoa Maori embodies wairuatanga as a vital component of nurturing our physical, mental and social health.

The capacity of the environment to sustain the rongoa in the first place – the health of the trees, leaves, berries, fruits, bark and moss – motivates us not just in the immediate access and harvesting of rakau, but also in taking care to protect Papatuanuku for the days to come.

The traditional knowledge about rongoa, mirimiri, romiromi, the use of wai to heal, is also to be protected.

And I want to make special acknowledgement of the significance of the WAI 262 flora and fauna claim.

Some of the concerns around the misappropriation of cultural and intellectual property, the practice of patenting, and the degree of protection that rongoa is entitled to as a Treaty right, are key issues for the ongoing development of rongoa.

I want to pay a particular tribute to Saana Murray of Ngati Kuri, who is the last living claimant of the group of pioneers who took these issues to the Waitangi Tribunal on our behalf.

All of these issues were presented most recently in a publication released a couple of months ago, “The Future of Rongoa Maori: Wellbeing and Sustainability”.

In that report, three key benefits were described as emerging from rongoa Maori:

1. the health benefits that lead from the diagnostic and treatment modalities associated with rongoa;

2. the strength that comes for tangata whenua from retention and revitalization of matauranga, tikanga and te reo Maori; and

3. the role of traditional healers in improving access for Maori to other health services.

The movement towards whare oranga developing tight relationships throughout the health system – with PHOs, DHBs and the Ministry of Health – is therefore something I completely endorse.

This hui is a pivotal moment in our history, as we seek to integrate rongoa with mainstream healthcare.

Integrative heatlh care, as defined by the Ministry of Health, is about encouraging active collaboration, cooperation and communication amongst all health practitioners involved in the care of an individual patient.

In its most basic form, integrative health care is seen when traditional Maori healers work alongside complementary and alternative medicine therapists and biomedical practitioners.

It is about enabling a wider healthcare choice for Maori; and it will be seen in a patient-centred partnership between those upholding matauranga Maori and those applying Western biomedicine.

I am really excited about the innovation that will come out of the project, Nga Tohu o te Ora.

I want to congratulate the research team – Maui Hudson, Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll, Zack Bishara, Moe Milne and Marie Stewart - for their initiative in seeking to develop a set of traditional Maori wellness outcome measures that will fully define the range of outcomes that we would expect of our traditional healers.

That is exactly the type of focus I want to advance in health – and in fact across all social policy sectors.

And if I could humbly suggest two key areas of interest for me, that I would like to see both this project, and also more specifically this hui address, it would be to focus on the aspiration of whanau ora; and to encourage integrated care to stretch its wings even wider to embrace not just the wider health sector, but also education, justice, social services, housing and all aspects of life that impact on our mauri.

For happiness in our unique understanding of hauora, is not just about treatment and cures; or a focus on fixing up the individual.

Whanau ora takes all sector interests into account; it starts also from the premise that whanau are the best equipped to deal with their own issues.

The role for Government, for agencies and state departments, for non-governmental organizations, for health providers, for traditional healers alike – should be to do all that we can to address any issues that may impact on the capacity of whanau to get the most out of life.

And so I return to the wisdom of Rongo Wi Repa – what is the knowledge and the ability passed on to you, to uphold, protect and sustain the practice of rongoa, for the wellbeing of whanau, hapu and iwi?

How do you care for the kumarahou, kawakawa, manuka, kowhai and harakeke? How do you preserve and protect the practice of romiromi, rongoa, healing and hono?

How do you encourage whanau to take a holistic approach to their own health, to understand the aspiration of tino rangatiratanga; to promote kaitiakitanga; to value the full strength of whakawhanaungatanga?

Leadership in advancing the relationship between rongoa Maori and integrative health care resides with us all.

And I will be particularly interested to hear your views on the role of Te Paepae Matua mo te Rongoa; the role of Nga Ringa Whakahaere o te Iwi Maori; and the support provided by the post of Chief Advisor – Integrative Care within the Ministry of Health, David St George.

But most of all, I will be keen to hear your thoughts on whanau ora; and the aspiration for integrated health and social services.

Tatai tangata ki te whenua, ka ngaro, ka ngaro;

Tatai whetu me te Rangi, ka mau tonu, ka mau tonu

ENDS

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