Summarised by Centrist
Blogger and political commentator Haimona Gray critiques the failures of Health NZ and the Māori Health Authority:
“The reality is we as a nation have spent billions to take our public health services backwards.”
Gray writes: “Some will argue that the Māori Health Authority was not given enough time to prove its concept, but when you contrast both to the NZ Super Fund – which initially faced partisan push-back but also had a clear value proposition and is now highly regarded across the political spectrum – you see the seams.”
The Māori Health Authority, envisioned by Prof Sir Mason Durie, aimed to decentralise care, which sounds good on paper. However, leadership faced potential conflicts of interest.
Gray also points out that the Health NZ centralised model aimed for better outcomes but replaced local voices with bureaucrats, worsening inefficiencies. This led to the dismissal of the Health NZ board.
This approach undermines the purpose of the Māori Health Authority, which promotes a community-based approach.
Conversely, if a community-based model has tangible benefits, it raises the question of why a centralised Wellington-based system is necessary.
Implementing both systems simultaneously “is akin to adopting the metric system, but only on weekends. Complex ‘simplicity’,” he writes.
