No Plan, No Evidence, No Partnership: Tribunal Told Crown Has Been “Reckless” About Māori Health

The Waitangi Tribunal has been told that the Crown’s disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora (the Māori Health Authority) on 30 June 2024 has left Māori health with no clear direction, no new structure, and no Tiriti-consistent process to take its place.

During the four-day priority inquiry, all claimant legal counsel — including those representing lead claimants Lady Tureiti Moxon and Janice Kuka — delivered closing submissions pointing to an alarming absence of planning or strategy from the Crown. The Tribunal heard that the Crown failed to contest evidence of Te Aka Whai Ora’s early success, offered no justification for dismantling it, and presented no viable alternative.

“We’ve been pushed back to where we were two decades ago — a system that refuses to share power, a government ignoring its Treaty commitments, and a health structure that continues to sideline Māori. This is the fifth time I’ve stood before this Tribunal to say the same thing: injustice, racism, underfunding, and the Crown’s ongoing refusal to honour Te Tiriti,” said Lady Tureiti Moxon, Chair of the National Urban Māori Authority and Managing Director of Te Kōhao Health.

“Te Aka Whai Ora was meant to be our turning point in. But instead of building on it, the Crown tore it down with no plan, no consultation with their Te Tiriti partner, with no evidence, no justification. Minister Reti ignored our letters. Minister Brown refused to meet.”

Claimants argue the evidence is overwhelming: Te Aka Whai Ora was working — but underpowered, underfunded, and prematurely dismantled without consultation or justification. They said the Crown has been "reckless" with Māori lives given what the evidence is saying about life expectancy being at least seven years earlier than any other cohort in the population.

The Waitangi Tribunal heard evidence that showed Te Aka Whai Ora was a clear success within the limits set by the Crown — delivering early gains and poised for long-term impact. The Crown did not contest this evidence and offered no data or rationale for its dis-establishment.

Expert witnesses, including Professor Peter Crampton from Otago University, confirmed there was no evidence-based reason for dismantling the Māori Health Authority.

“I am not aware of any evidence based any evidence basis for the decision to disestablish Te Aka Whai Ora in my hearing of the political debates in my reading of the political discussions I would characterise that decision as being entirely in the political domain not in the evidence domain,” he said.

Crown counsel acknowledged that there is no detailed evidence yet about an alternative.

“There’s a work program that’s under active consideration right now, with decisions expected in the near future from Cabinet,” Crown counsel told the Tribunal.

But when pressed by Judge Damian Stone on whether the health workforce knew about the planned changes, he was unable to provide clarity.

“So does that mean that the many thousands of people who are working in the health industry don't know anything about this?” the Judge asked.

“We’ve been waiting a long time — nearly 18 months — for any clear articulation of an alternative plan to the Māori Health Authority. Just a day before this hearing, we received a memo saying even the revised Hauora Māori Strategy has been paused. So, to be frank, it’s very difficult for us to understand what’s actually happening.”

The Tribunal panel of Professor Susy Frankel, Professor Tom Roa, Tania Simpson, and Professor Linda Tuhiwai Smith did hear evidence about:

• All former functions of Te Aka Whai Ora were moved to Crown-controlled bodies.

• No new plans or structures have been implemented since.

• Māori health services within Health NZ have been drastically reduced, with over 160 staff expected to lose their roles.

• The Māori Health Directorate and Hauora Māori Advisory Committee advising the Health Minister has limited capacity, no dedicated funding, and unclear influence over health strategy.

• The Crown has provided no evidence that any of these changes align with Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Arguments presented about the Crown’s actions reflected a complete rollback of Māori health leadership and voice, with no evidence that a replacement for Te Aka Whai Ora was ever intended. They described public claims by Minister Hon Dr Shane Reti about alternatives—such as Iwi Māori Partnership Boards stepping in—as misleading and untrue.

Claimant witnesses, including respected Māori health leaders and experts like Rob Campbell, former Chair of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand, testified that Te Aka Whai Ora was a success, just beginning to show impact, and its disestablishment is a significant loss to Māori health. The Crown offered no evidence-based rationale for dismantling the Authority and did not contest evidence of its success.

“Te Aka Whai Ora wasn’t without flaws, but it was grounded in tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake. We were making progress. Then, without notice, consultation, or evidence, the Crown dismantled it,” Janice Kuka, Managing Director of Ngā Mataapuna Oranga.

Moxon and Kuka are calling on the Tribunal to recognise the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora as a regressive act, lacking Tiriti consistency, and to hold the Crown accountable for failing to progress any of the broader Hauora recommendations.

“What does that tell you about partnership? They're calling this a universal system, again, as if treating everyone the same is fair, but all we know, treating Māori the same as everyone else never leads to the same outcomes. That's not equity, that's assimilation,” said Lady Tureiti.

Ms Roimata Smail, legal counsel for the lead claimants suggested to the Tribunal to set out clearly in its report:

Māori are not to blame for their poor health;

• Māori PHOs and Māori Providers demonstrate excellence;

• Māori i PHOs and Māori Providers have very little;

• Te Aka Whai Ora was a success; and

• Te Aka Whai Ora had very little.

Counsel for claimants laboured the point strongly: "The dis-establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora was a political decision based on an ideology that equity policy is somehow the antithesis of positive outcomes for all.”

Closing submissions by Moxon and Kuka said, “The evidence is clear that Mr Whaanga, his Hauora Māori Directorate in the Ministry of Health and indeed anyone else who is connected to Māori is being sidelined in favour of the Health Assurance Unit about which we have almost no information.”

Crown evidence presented by Deputy Director-General Māori, John Whaanga, confirmed there have been no legislative changes since the disestablishment, no new strategies or structures to replace Te Aka Whai Ora, and no Tiriti-consistent processes for Māori health planning. Despite significant restructuring across Health NZ, including downsizing of Māori health teams to a quarter of their original size, the Crown could not point to any viable alternatives or meaningful decision-making processes.

The closing submission of Moxon and Kuka, Smail also stressed the urgency of restoring Māori-led solutions grounded in tino rangatiratanga and mana motuhake, and demand action based on the Tribunal’s own 2019 Hauora Report, including compensation for chronic underfunding that the Sapere Report said was $531Million six years ago and a commitment to Māori-led design of any future structure.

They called it “the new whare” of Māori design and it was an explicit requirement back in 2018 of all the original claimants in the first Stage One Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry, Lady Tureiti Moxon, Janice Kuka, Timi Maipi and Hakopa Paul. Their vision was:

“The Wai 1315 claimants are united on our vision for the future. It is:

Tino Rangatiratanga and Mana Motuhake. We are also united on the following principles which help to inform our vision:

• We are not the servants of the Crown

• We will design our own future for ourselves, based on tikanga

• We will take responsibility for our own.”

As Māori providers continue to lead on the ground, claimants ask the Tribunal to show courage and leadership in return — and to stand firm against political pressure.

“The claimants acknowledge the pressure on the Waitangi Tribunal, in an environment where the Prime Minister is proud to call out “Maorification”1. But they ask the Tribunal to remember, that you predate the Coalition Agreement by nearly half a century, and your report will outlast it too.”

Crown counsel are expected to file their written closing submissions on Tuesday, 3 June.