10. Question No. 10—Health (Māori Health)TĀMATI COFFEY (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health)Question No. 10—Health (Māori Health)10. TĀMATI COFFEY (Labour) to the Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health): What recent announcements has he made about supporting Māori to respond to the impacts of COVID-19?Hon PEENI HENARE (Associate Minister of Health (Māori Health)): Yesterday I announced $36 million of funding to respond to the needs of whānau Māori and Māori health providers to support their ongoing work to respond to COVID-19 and to continue their hard mahi towards increasing the rates of Māori vaccination. The funding will see $17 million to be allocated to help providers adapt their services to support the COVID-19 response while also maintaining their other essential health services; $14 million will help whānau access health services medications and hygiene products and it will also help provide greater reach of vaccination testing and other health services to hard-to-reach areas; $3 million will strengthen the Māori psychosocial response ensuring whānau have access to mental health and wellbeing services; and $2 million will ensure providers have sufficient funding to manage the long tail of this response sustain their efforts and help them prepare for the possibility of future outbreaks.Tāmati Coffey: How will this funding announcement support equitable outcomes for Māori across the COVID-19 response?Hon PEENI HENARE: The Government's top priority is to stamp out the COVID-19 virus. Māori are one of the most at-risk communities for COVID-19 and the impacts on whānau are far-reaching and therefore require a comprehensive and coordinated response. This Government believes that by investing in our Māori health providers their efforts will support equitable outcomes for Māori across the COVID-19 response. The funding announced yesterday complements the $39 million for COVID-19 support and response announced earlier this year. These providers adopt a kaupapa Māori and whānau-centred approach to service delivery which focuses on meeting the holistic needs of whānau. They place the needs of Māori and their whānau at the centre of everything they do. Because these providers are well connected to their communities they play an important role in delivering communications about the COVID-19 response that is tailored for Māori communities. Lastly these providers deliver services that are culturally safe for Māori and we know that cultural safety is an important part of delivering high-quality services to Māori communities.Tāmati Coffey: What wider announcements is he aware of that have been made to support Māori?Hon PEENI HENARE: I can confirm that my hard-working colleague Minister Davis and Te Arawhiti have undertaken significant work with iwi. Throughout lockdown Ministers held weekly calls with the National Iwi Chairs Forum and other iwi as well as regular meetings with the Tāmaki-makau-rau Māori response collective. This approach is welcomed by iwi Māori and worked to ensure their voices were heard and allowed the Government to better respond to issues that Māori were raising on the ground. Te Arawhiti also announced a $1 million targeted fund to support iwi-led COVID-19 communications support for vaccine uptake and response planning. I can't forget the hard-working Minister Jackson and Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK) who have undertaken across the country a number of opportunities and announced yesterday $2 million to assist Māori health providers who work directly with TPK to support community-driven local responses and to plug gaps in the vaccination roll-out. And finally the awesome work of the humble Minister for Whānau Ora who recently announced $23 million to help whānau through Whānau Ora services including accessing vaccinations testing and self-isolation spaces. This is a Government that listens to and supports Māori.SPEAKER: It's so hard to be humble isn't it? Question No. 11 Matt Doocey—you're not going to read it are you Mr Doocey?