In the latest of a series on what influential New Zealanders are wishing for in 2023, Māori health leader Selah Hart explains why the Covid-19 pandemic is a microcosm of everything that goes wrong for Māori in the health system - and how we can learn from it
1. Affordable housing.
How can whānau thrive when they have insecure accommodation and sub-standard rental options?
Until there is a warm, dry home for all New Zealanders we are not going to get on top of the third world diseases afflicting our communities, and the health system will continue to be overwhelmed by preventable chronic health conditions.
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It makes no sense to accept that many whānau live in homes that make them sick, and that more people have to resort to living on the streets.
The brightest minds in Aotearoa can be world-leading in the arts, technology, sport and business, so I want us to utilise our home-grown skills to ensure all New Zealanders have a home. Surely with enough political willpower we can do it! 2. Learn from Covid-19.
The pandemic is a once-in-a-generation public health catastrophe but it’s also a microcosm of everything that goes wrong for Māori in the health system.
The Māori response, which was fought for at every level from the grass roots to the ninth floor of the Beehive, offers salient lessons in how to approach health and wellbeing in a way that works for our people.
My wish is for further investment in community-led solutions. We need to stop under-funding and patronising the people who know exactly how to care for whānau, and let them get on with it. 3. Prioritise tamariki mokopuna
I work across an enormous variety of public health kaupapa, from gambling harm prevention to tobacco control and preventing Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy, among many more.
The single common factor in all of these areas is how we effectively focus on improved outcomes for the next generation.
If we are going to be good ancestors, we have to look at all of our activities through the lens of the health and wellbeing of our tamariki mokopuna. It’s that simple. 4. Stop being hōhā about co-governance
There have been so many amazing advances in creating unity in Aotearoa in the last five years. From the way New Zealanders have embraced te reo Māori to celebrating cultural milestones like the first Matariki holiday, there is so much to celebrate about how our Indigenous culture uplifts all of us.
We can’t let hōhā dissidents prevent our continued progress towards creating a country where everyone is able to benefit from the rich heritage of this land.
Let’s resist the distraction of those who will oppose any change from the status quo, particularly in an election year.
In the words of the former Attorney-General and Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Chris Finlayson on co-governance: “What it really means is that involving iwi in a myriad of decisions can actually result in a better country.” 5. Be courageous custodians of the land
Climate change isn’t waiting for us to find a good economic argument for not burning our own houses down.
My final wish is for Aotearoa to plant more trees, fund mātauranga Māori interventions which revive the practices that nourish this land, incentivise zero waste and carbon neutral activities, make it easier and less expensive for whānau to act in the best interests of the whenua and reward businesses who are committed to sustainability.
It will take all of us to convince politicians across the political spectrum that we will not tolerate policies that are too weak to make a difference.
