The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) has expressed its support in principle for the aims and objectives of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill currently before a parliamentary select committee.
The bill was drafted after an independent Health and Disability System Review found consistently poor outcomes for some groups, in particular Māori, Pacific peoples, and people with disabilities, and significant unwarranted variation in service availability, access and quality between population groups and areas of New Zealand.
The review found that the health system had become fragmented and complex, leading to unclear roles, duplication, misalignment, and a lack of a common whole-system ethos. The health system was also found not to meet the Crown’s obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi).
The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill repeals and replaces the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 in its entirety. The Government proposes replacing District Health Boards with a single agency, Health New Zealand, as well as creating a Māori Health Authority to address health inequities among tangata whenua, and a stand-alone Public Health Unit to lead public health strategy.
The NZCCSS, which includes Catholic Social Services, represents more than 250 organisations providing a range of social services throughout the country.
In its submission on the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill, the NZCCSS expressed its support “in principle” for the purpose and objectives of the bill.
“We look forward to more details on how the new health entities, strategies and locality plans will interact, and on the level of funding needed to adequately resource each part of the new system.”
The submission backed the proposal to replace DHBs with a single agency, and to have a Māori Health Authority and a Public Health Unit.
“We agree that this will provide consistency in health services around the motu (country). All New Zealanders should experience equitable health outcomes, but it is clear that this is not the case. It is unacceptable that Māori and Pacifica health outcomes are significantly poorer compared to other ethnicities. Data shows on average Māori live seven years less than non-Māori (Independent Health and Disability Review, 2020). This is a clearly a breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and a morally unacceptable situation which must end. Inequities in health however sit within a wider system of structural inequality underpinned by racism and stereotypes,” the submission stated.
“The inter-generational damage of colonisation and institutional racism across education, the justice system, social welfare and employment, is widely acknowledged as social determinants of poor health outcomes.
“Our member services see every day the impact of these structural inequities playing out in communities: poverty and deprivation, poor nutrition, social exclusion, high rates of incarceration, transience and poor-quality housing, addiction and mental health problems, and barriers to access health and social services and government supports. The health system reforms on their own will not address health equity without broader structural change within our society,” the submission stated.
Among other comments in the submission on various aspects of the bill, the NZCCSS expressed support for a proposed statutory requirement for Government to undertake public consultation on all health strategies, to ensure interested parties have an opportunity to comment, and for a public health campaign to provide clear information on the health reforms and what changes to expect at the local level.
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