“Scrapping the Māori Health Authority brings the health system closer to ACT’s ideal of services delivered based on individual need, not group identity,” says ACT Health spokesman Todd Stephenson in response to legislation introduced by the Health Minister today.

“ACT’s coalition agreement secured the commitment to disestablish the Māori Health Authority, and we’re very pleased to have this done and dusted as part of the Government’s 100-day plan.

“The Māori Health Authority experiment created resentment as it divided up services based on who our ancestors were. It wasted half a billion dollars, failed to hire for critical skills because it was too focused on hiring based on race, and sacked half its own board.

“Using race to determine who gets access to health services is a dumb, blunt approach that detracts from the principle of needs-based public healthcare. Elevating race above factors like age, income group, geographic location, and personal medical history inevitably means someone, somewhere, in serious need misses out.

“ACT believes every Kiwi deserves the dignity of being seen as an individual. That means government-funded services must be targeted to fit your specific needs.”

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