Turia Tariana: Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Turia Tariana: Appointments — Abortion Supervisory Committee 
[Sitting date: 07 April 2011. Volume:671;Page:17843. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon TARIANA TURIA (Co-Leader—Maori Party) 
: 
 I move  
That the motion be amended by omitting “Reverend Patricia Ann Allan of Christchurch” and substituting “Dr Ate Moala of Wellington”. 
 I say from the outset that the issues associated with abortion are absolutely essential to any understanding of w’anau well-being and w’anau ora. The protection and preservation of w’akapapa of genealogy are fundamental to the growth and health of our w’anau. 
I think about the precious heartbeat of every child. I think about the comment that Ngati Whatua leader Naida Glavish once made—that there is no such thing as an unwanted mokopuna. I contrast that comment with the statistics that tell me that in the last 5 years close to 100000 babies have been aborted—more than twice the population of my home city of Wanganui. 
The Maori Party was pleased to support Dr Tangimoana Habib when her appointment was first proposed. Tanigmoana who is of Tuwharetoa w’akapapa is a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners and currently works as a general practitioner in practice at Te Kohao Health in Hamilton as well as running a satellite clinic in another high-need area of Hamilton. She has been involved in Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA) the Maori Medical Practitioners Association since 2000 and has been a member of Te Akoranga a Maui the Maori faculty of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners since its inception in 2002. She is the continuing medical education provider for Te ORA and is also a general practitioner registrar trainer. But perhaps her greatest qualification is her lifelong proven commitment to improving the status of Maori health. 
We are very pleased to support her appointment to the Abortion Supervisory Committee particularly given the concern we have for maintaining the health and well-being of mothers children and the greater w’anau at any time in which health issues occur. When I was involved back home with Te Oranganui Iwi Health Authority we always insisted that any young woman seeking advice of a sexual and reproductive nature be supported with the wisdom of elders of kuia whom we had arranged to work with us. The thinking for us was that sexual and reproductive health is never about just biomedical or clinical matters. It is about mauri the life force. It is about wairuatanga the spiritual dimension. It is about ira tangata the ongoing genealogical connections found in our w’akapapa. So we welcome the opportunity for Tangimoana to bring issues associated with Te Ao Maori to the debate. We also support Professor Dame Linda Holloway as chair of the Abortion Supervisory Committee. 
We believe that our amendment today strengthens the representation on the committee to take account of the particular needs of Pacific families. Dr Ate Moala is of Tongan descent. She has a distinguished background in Pacific health and in particular health related to the family. She is the clinical director of Pacific orthopaedics in Wellington. She is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and has particular experience in working with Pacific communities on a range of health issues including breast cancer immunisation asthma and healthy lifestyles. She is a board member of the Pacific Health Research and Development Foundation Trust and a former president of the Pasifika Medical Association of New Zealand. 
We all know that culture counts. We believe that different cultural frameworks are vital in helping all New Zealanders to see health in a holistic way. In terms of my amendment we consider it crucial that the issues of Pacific families are considered when coming to such a sensitive issue as abortion. 
Dr Ate Moala was previously in 2007 put forward as a nomination to the Abortion Supervisory Committee in order to add value to the cultural competency of the committee and strengthen the composition and professional knowledge available to the committee. We hope 4 years on that wisdom will prevail and that we will see an Abortion Supervisory Committee that represents the breadth and diverse strength of Pasifika populations alongside tangata w’enua and other populations. 
We have a most solemn duty in the House to ensure that we act in the Chamber in ways that enhance the health and well-being of all of our people. I hope my amendment will help us all to do that.