Pham LanLAN PHAM (Green): Thank you Mr Chair. He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata he tangata he tangata. [What is the most important thing in this world? It is the people it is the people it is the people.]I just wanted to just open this evening with this whakataukī because this is the first time I've spoken in the Chamber since the death of our colleague Fa'anānā Efeso Collins and I wanted to open with that to acknowledge him but also to highlight it in the committee tonight in the context of this bill because we know that the health of our people should be at the heart of the work of Government. Sadly tonight with the proposed passing of this bill we're neglecting the fact that what's good for Māori is good for all of us here in Aotearoa and we've lost sight of it with this bill.I wanted to pick up specifically on clause 13 in this first part that we're looking at. I want to do this because despite living in a country where we're known for our advanced healthcare system relative to the rest of the world it's been well traversed earlier in the evening and in the earlier readings just how pervasive and dire the health inequities faced by Māori are. And it's literally a matter of life and death. What makes it worse though is that these disparities are not only unjust but they're also preventable. So in the admirable aim of any Government—and like this Government purports to be doing—who genuinely seeks to address these disparities one powerful tool emerges and that is independent monitoring. I really want to hear from the Minister how clause 13 actually relates to that. Now the reason why I want to home in on the independent monitoring is it offers a pathway to actually address the disparities that we have and it was something that Te Aka Whai Ora was tasked with in providing independent monitoring of Te Whatu Ora. It made so much sense and it was the right thing to do in stepping toward a system that upheld Te Tiriti and stepping towards what tino rangatiratanga could actually look like for Māori in the health system here in Aotearoa. I'm sure that the Minister with his background will be well aware of how critical this independent monitoring role is.Now with this Government seeking to abolish Te Aka Whai Ora I'd really appreciate hearing from the Minister who or what body or what system will now be put in place to take up the role of that independent monitoring just because it's so invaluable. We know that we need this ideally impartial oversight of healthcare services. We know independent monitoring ensures accountability it helps identify areas of improvement and it also has the ability to safeguard against discrimination within the healthcare system which Māori we know are faced with every day. Now particularly with clause 13 which inserts new section 16A Engaging with and reporting to Māori" it says Health New Zealand must "(b) report back to Māori from time to time". Now this doesn't to me sound like a robust monitoring and evaluation system so I'd really like to hear the Minister's comments on that. In his response I'd love to hear the appreciation and understanding that this independent monitoring role needs to be continued and that it needs to be Māori monitoring and evaluating their own health outcomes for their people and not that it's going to be absorbed into Te Whatu Ora where it will be a broken discriminatory system monitoring itself. I really want to hear that acknowledgment and commitment to the essential importance of independent monitoring and committing to supporting and amplifying the needs and voices of Māori as part of a healthcare system that truly serves the needs of all. Thank you."