Speech: Launch of Te Ara Tika - Waiora Maori Health Plan

Ma te tauihu o tou waka; E u te waiora
Kia mahue atu; nga mea whakahirahira
i roto i te koriporipo

May the prow of your canoe cleave the waters of life
And leave in its wake mighty deeds

Every year, the uri of Whanganui, take to the river in our tribal journey, Te Tira Hoe Waka. As our whanau paddle the awa, from the mountain to the sea, we celebrate our Whanganuiatanga, our whanaungatanga, our whakapapa.

 

Our wananga is driven by a passion for learning. We pass by our traditional kainga, we stay at pa sites from generations before, and we listen to the stories that inspire pride in ourselves, for our tupuna, for our history.

 

It is a time in which we truly believe ko au te awa, ko te awa ko au– I am the river and the river is me. It is about Waiora – our sense of complete and utter satisfaction with life itself.

 

And so it was, that when I was invited to launch the Waiora Maori Health Plan – te ara tika – it was the pathway that we follow at home that I thought of. Our people say, “kaua e korero mo te awa; me korero ki to awa” – do not merely speak about your river; go and commune with it.

 

Communing with that which keeps us well, is the essence of waiora.

 

So what is ‘Te Ara Tika’ according to Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust, and the Union Health Centre?

 

How does this joint venture Primary Health Organisation determine what is the right pathway for the whanau who access these services?

 

What is the Tira Hoe Waka that this group will follow?

 

If we look more closely again, at the concept of Wai-ora; we return to that sense of going back in time to make the connection.

 

Na wai koe? From whom do you belong?

 

The so-called father of modern philosophy, Rene Descartes, left the world the phrase, “ I think therefore I am”.

Here in Aotearoa, Maori Marsden challenged the French theorist with his interpretation, “I belong, therefore I am”.

 

It is a concept that I believe is central to the key themes introduced in the Waiora Maori Health Plan.

 

We see the importance of connection in the value given to integration – the co-ordination of whanau ora programmes which are linked across the government funding authorities, as well as throughout the range of social sectors.

 

I have always been intolerant of approaches which seek to compartmentalise our bodies into objects for dissection – the broken toe; the splintered bone; the decaying tooth.

 

That same ‘breaking down the parts’ technique has been applied across social policy – this is an education problem; a welfare problem; a health issue – and subsequently sourced by Ministry of Education, Health, Social Development votes.

 

Waiora is about to break that mould – to shatter any safety net which restricts policy responses to single silo solutions – and thereby ignoring the comprehensive gains that can be achieved when all the sectors are in sync with one another.

 

You know best your community. And I want to say, I commend you for endeavouring to compile your own data sets to understand the true nature of disparity for your people here.

 

We know the level of disparity is dire – and I have no interest in replicating that data to depress us all today.

 

My interest is in how we move forward, to ensure that the data gathered by Waiora HealthCare PHO Trust – or by Waitemata DHB - or by the Ministry of Health - will be seen as a benchmark for moving us forward.

 

To that end I am really interested in the work you intend doing on the unbundling of DHB community services – looking to see how community mental health, district nursing, public health, children’s health, and needs assessment services are actually meeting the needs of this community.

 

It will be exciting to see how joint ventures can be negotiated to ensure equity in Maori participation in decision making services.

 

We know that as brilliant as you are, you can’t deliver everything, and the key to sustainable change will be in how you are able to engage and work with your partners, for the benefit of your community.

 

I am hoping that integration is also about a focus, not just on the individual, me, myself, I – but also stretching right across the whanau. One of the issues that has always worried me, is that when things go wrong in a whanau, the world seems to pounce on the birth parents, in isolation of all of the aunties and uncles, grandparents and cousins, the wider social fabric of whanau.

 

And that is why I am excited to see the second key theme in Te Ara Tika is innovation.

 

Innovation which you define as being about flagship programmes which foster the development of healthy lifestyle champions within each whanau.

 

This notion of flagship programmes, is of course a concept well known to tangata whenua.

 

While the flagship concept has been traced to military contexts – the commanding officer who would lead a fleet of vessels, flying their distinguishing flag proudly from the bow - we know in Whanganui that it really comes from our world view, te ihu o te waka.

 

In te tira hoe waka, the more experienced paddlers, the ones who know the run of the rapids, who can read the water and navigate the safest course, are the ones who will be outfront, setting the path for the tira to follow.

 

And so it will be with this Waiora Maori Health Plan. Your focus on fostering and encouraging the growth of healthy lifestyle champions within each whanau is an incredibly exciting project for us all to consider.

 

In essence, it says to us, kei te ihu o te waka tatou. We are the ones, outfront, who can lead ourselves forward into the rapids.

 

We are the fastest, the newest, the strongest, the bravest, at setting our own direction. And who knows, we may all agree that the flag that we fly is the rangatiratanga flag – a flag to celebrate that we can determine our own destiny.

 

And so it will be fascinating to see what your flagship programmes evolve to be – and where across the Waitemata these initiatives will take root.

 

Finally, the third key theme for this Waiora Maori Health Plan is of excellence.

 

Excellence is a principle that the Maori Party is absolutely committed to.

 

Excellence is about turning adversity into opportunity, it’s about channelling our energies to create the forum that will bring about the best possible outcomes for our people.

 

For you, that outcome will come through the establishment of PHO centres of excellence. The focus for these centres is to undertake new and successful approaches to ensure our workforce is best able to achieve positive health outcomes for our whanau.

 

I want to really commend you on holding fast to the ultimate aim- the outcomes of waiora, of mauriora, of complete health and wellbeing.

 

That is the culture of excellence that will drive you forwards; excellence of outcomes; outcomes which demonstrate you are making a difference.

 

That is the right pathway indeed – te ara tika.

 

I am aware that the plan we are launching today, still has a few rapids to navigate, and that the path will no doubt be choppy for some time yet.

 

But I have every confidence that the waka you will steer into the future is the one that reflects the aspirations for your people – and I hope that all parties can work together in a way which is ultimately about achieving health gain for Maori.

 

The important thing is having the attitude that says waiora is an important goal, that mauriora is something we value, and that we are all willing to pull together to find te ara tika, the right pathway ahead for us all.