47361 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister of Health

47361 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister of Health: How is the government upholding its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the implementation and monitoring of health targets?

Hon Simeon Brown: I am advised that Health New Zealand works alongside the Hauora Māori Committee. Further, I note that when health targets were in place in 2017, 89.7 per cent of Māori were admitted, discharged, or transferred from emergency departments within six hours. After those targets were removed, that figure fell to 71.6 per cent in 2023. In 2017, 97.5 per cent of Māori waited less than four months for elective treatment, compared with just 61 per cent in 2023. Similarly, 88.2 per cent of Māori received cancer treatment within 30 days of the decision to treat in 2017, compared with 85.9 per cent in 2023. And 89 per cent of Māori tamariki were fully immunised by 24 months in 2017, dropping to 65 per cent in 2023. Bringing back health targets will help lift performance and improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders, including Māori.