Pee Kay
No Minister
While not strictly a legal matter like the ones Geoff addresses below, the risk and absurdity associated with tikanga were perfectly framed by the NZ Nurses Organisation in mid-2025.
In mid 2025, the NZNO clashed with Health NZ over the axing of the “tikanga allowance” (Tikanga Māori Pūtea) from collective negotiations. The allowance was explicitly designed to pay nurses extra for using Māori language and customs, whether hosting formal welcomes or dealing with Māori patients day-to-day. NZNO claimed the allowance was seen as a way to recognize and value the cultural expertise of nurses and to support the delivery of culturally appropriate care to Māori patients.
The NZNO says its removal “is a step backwards in addressing Māori health outcomes and cultural responsibility.”
NZNO chief executive Paul Goulter wouldn’t speculate on why they had been removed, but said it was “widely known this government is trying to remove any references to addressing Māori health outcomes”. “This is probably a very low-rent sort of action by the government to attack that.”
So much for treatment being your first requirement when being admitted to hospital.
Where the hell are our health priorities?
PS – You will be pleased to know the NZNO did not successfully retain the “Tikanga Allowance” or the Kaupapa Māori dispute resolution process clauses in their final 2026 Health NZ collective agreement. Health NZ held firm against re-introducing it into the much larger NZNO contract. The NZNO publicly criticised Health NZ for failing to recognize cultural duties and Treaty of Waitangi.
But the smaller union, Nurses Society of NZ, who negotiated separate collective agreements at the same time did manage to secure a “tikanga Māori putea allowance” in their settlements.
https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2026/08/geoff-parker-carwyn-jones-misses-point.html
This article was originally published by No Minister.
