2. Question No. 2—HealthDr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 2—Health2. Dr SHANE RETI (Deputy Leader—National) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions in relation to a Māori Health Authority?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes and I especially stand by my statement that the health system must work in true partnership with Māori to improve services and achieve equitable health outcomes."Dr Shane Reti: When he said this week that he couldn't envisage a time when the Māori Health Authority veto could be used will he then remove it?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The way the Māori Health Authority and Health New Zealand—and indeed the whole of the health system—will operate under the reformed system is that agreement will be required between the various moving parts. The Māori Health Authority will have the power to make its own commissioning decisions and it will have the right to have a say on and reach agreement with Health NZ and the Ministry of Health on a New Zealand health plan. In the same way that the Māori Health Authority will be free to withhold its agreement if it's not happy with it so will Health NZ and actually what will happen is everybody will reach agreement because everybody shares the same objective and that is a healthy New Zealand.Dr Shane Reti: When he said this week that the health reforms in a Māori Health Authority address two things—health inequity and Treaty obligations—why is health need not on that list?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I thought it was self-evident that when we talk about health equity and the parlous situation facing Māori compared to many other New Zealanders actually that is about health need. It has to improve and it will improve way better under the new system.Dr Shane Reti: Will Health New Zealand have any accountability for worsening Māori health outcomes if decisions for those outcomes were made by the Māori Health Authority?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Ultimate accountability for the performance of the health system will be the responsibility of the Minister of Health supported by the Ministry of Health who will have the oversight and monitoring role for the entire health system. But both the Māori Health Authority and Health NZ will have accountabilities to ensure that their use of public funds is meeting the objectives set for each of them.Dr Shane Reti: Will Ngāpuhi be on the board of the Māori Health Authority given they are the largest iwi; if not why not?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The way the Māori Health Authority is being established is with Māori. We have identified a leading health expert in New Zealand to lead the establishment of the Māori Health Authority. Their responsibility will be to assemble a team who will engage with Māori te ao Māori putting together the way Māori wants the Māori Health Authority to assemble its governance and put the functions of the authority together.Rawiri Waititi: What is the Minister's working definition of "commissioning" as it applies to their plan for the Māori Health Authority?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I thank the member for the question and that's an interesting question. When I use the term "commissioning" it is a very broad term but it is about a decision to fund and support specified services. As I have said in other forums my expectation is that both for Health NZ and for the Māori Health Authority over time the way commissioning happens will evolve because we know the discourse from all quarters is that health is no longer just a clinical issue; it is about the determinants of health and we need our various health bodies to be engaged in all those things that affect people's health."