Anei anō ētahi kōrero

The testimony to the Waitangi Tribunal would lead one to think that the Government was obsessed with NOT listening to Māori advice and continually claiming to be doing right by Māori despite the unfolding of evidence to the contrary.

Rawiri MJ says that despite being consistently advised by Māori the Crown failed to consider and develop a pandemic response that would prevent and address inequitable outcomes for Māori and high needs communities,

• Social determinants of health and existing inequities and disparities for Māori;
• the Crown’s failure to resource Māori-lead initiatives and responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, and
• Failings in the Crown’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic,
• The Crown’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy and delivery, including its vaccine sequencing framework, subsequent under-vaccination of Māori when Delta arrived
• Concerns and impacts arising for Māori as a result of the loosening of restrictions in Auckland and the Traffic Light System
• Commentary on ethnicity data and paediatric vaccines.

Bryn J provided evidence around:

• the formation of WERO Hauora Immunisation Alliance,
• the experience of deliberate exclusion of Māori expertise from the public sector and
• of the barriers experienced in WERO-HIA’s efforts to have the Government resource and collaborate with Māori health experts to ensure pro-equity implementation of the COVID-19 pandemic response.