Hobson’s Pledge Trust
Don Brash
Another layer of separatist health delivery offers no rational prescription for Maori sickness and disability, Hobson’s Pledge spokesman Don Brash said yesterday.
Today, Health Minister Andrew Little and Maori Health Associate Minister Peeni Henare announced a revamp that replaces 20 district health boards with a national health service with four regional divisions plus a new Maori Health Authority.
Feeling uncomfortable when going to the doctor, and being worried about the expense, is not limited to those with a Maori ancestor, Dr Brash said.
The ability of the new Maori Health Authority to directly commission services where needed looks more like a way to fast-track cash to the parallel health system formed by 170 or so Maori social service providers around the country, he said.
It is absurd to be asked whether you are Maori or not when filling out your details when you go to the doctor, Dr Brash said.
We should be more like France, where citizens are not categorised by race at all, he said.
For Mr Henare to invoke “partnership” in relation to Maori health, when partnership is code for the Treaty, is nonsense. This is because Article 3 of the Treaty guaranteed all New Zealanders the same rights, Dr Brash said.
Besides, the one thing that the Ministers are not telling you is that a Labour-Alliance Government set up the 20 DHBs around 2000 and this latest tinkering with the health system looks like an admission that their system was a failure, he said.
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