The Government is putting at risk all the progress that is being made to improve the lives of Māori with its latest directive to all government agencies.

The Government has directed all government agencies that public services must be delivered by need and not race as included in the coalition agreements National agreed with both ACT and NZ First.

"This will set back Māori for generations at a time when Māori remain one of the most disadvantaged groups in New Zealand," said Janice Panoho, Te Kaihautū for Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association.

"This government is overriding its legal obligations under te Tiriti and washing its hands of the partnership between the Crown and Māori that governments of late have embraced.

"The loss of land, language, health and opportunity for Māori have been caused by the Crown and exacerbated by successive governments. This directive dismisses the Crown’s responibilty to Māori to rectify its past actions.

"Having public service agencies adopt a specific focus on improving the lives of Māori has been common sense policy, one that Labour and National-led governments have supported because it works.

"This is a government talking up evidence-based policies, but in practice is ignoring evidence that these policies actually work to improve lives. Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority was abolished despite opposition from public health experts who maintained it would improve the health of Māori.

"It’s done the same with the referendum on Māori wards, with Oranga Tamariki by removing 7AA, with the Treaty Principles Bill, proposing to remove te Tiriti references in legislation, with directing Pharmac not to consider te Tiriti in its funding decisions.

"Who is demanding this latest change? It’s not Māori. There is no groundswell of voices calling for it.

"Again, the Government has taken a decision based on ideology which fundamentally impacts Māori without consulting Māori. There’s a clear pattern here of a government again setting out to divide New Zealand. No-one voted for that," said Janice Panoho.

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