Ngarewa-Packer DebbieDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Tēnā tātou e te Whare. It's a pleasure to rise on behalf of Te Paati Māori to speak to the third reading of the te Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill. As health spokesperson it's been revealing following this bill as it has progressed through the House. I want to begin by acknowledging the significance of this day for tangata w'enua in Aotearoa. Our people have never had a place to stand with the health system. Generations of Māori have faced institutional racism and systemic barriers that have led to persistent inequities and entrenched health disparities for tangata w'enua. The real impact of this is devastating. We're dying young from cancers from third-world diseases but worst of all from neglect from indifference from racist policies and racist people and ignorance. Our people die on average at least seven years younger than non-Māori. That is why a new vision for the health system in Māori health was put forward by Tā Mason Durie a rangatira who has spent his life fighting and advocating fiercely for hauora Māori. That is why Te Paati Māori supported Tā Mason's vision and included the Māori Health Authority in our policy manifesto in the 2020 election. The establishment of the Māori Health Authority and Health New Zealand is the biggest reform to the health system in generations. We have an opportunity to finally address the barriers that hold us back even though some are in denial. Therefore this House must not yet again set up Māori to fail under the new system. Tangata w'enua must have our decision-making authority recognised in the legislation. There are rights guaranteed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Let's not forget this isn't our first attempt to own our own health solutions as Māori. We remember well that our tupuna Māui Pōmare achieved many of his health strategies only to be later removed as the Minister of Health as it was considered improper by non-Māori—many like ACT—who didn't believe that natives should hold such an important portfolio. For too long our people have needed a truly transformational health system—by Māori for Māori—that truly unapologetically addresses our needs. That's why Te Paati Māori will support this but put forward amendments at the committee stage which would have strengthened the bill and made it more compliant with Te Tiriti. The first Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) would have included tino rangatiratanga in the legislation and replaced references to the Treaty preferences with reference to the articles of the Treaty the actual contractual text that was signed in 1840. The second SOP would have established a Māori Director-General of Health to lead the operational management of the Ministry of Health alongside the Director-General of Health. As we saw during the pandemic even when Ministers instructed the release of Māori data and the courts backed them up the Director-General was able to block it from happening. The third SOP would have strengthened the language in the bill so that Health New Zealand would require the agreement of the Māori Health Authority before carrying out its functions. While we challenged all parties to support those SOPs only the Green Party supported and we thank them for their support and for being the one party willing to work with us on eliminating these legislative barriers. I acknowledge also my tungāne Rawiri who covered me last week while I was stuck home with COVID. In closing the Government must not see the passage of this bill as the end but the start of the road to reforming our health system and restoring power to tangata w'enua to look after ourselves. We cannot achieve the health outcomes we want to see with 2 percent of the health Budget for a population that makes up more than 17 percent of the country. We cannot achieve self-determination and self-sufficiency our tino rangatiratanga when our resources and decision-making mandate is channelled through a Pākehā bureaucracy in the Ministry of Health. Therefore we will continue to fight for an Aotearoa hou a nation where tangata w'enua are free to live as our true selves a nation where we're trusted to manage ourselves look after ourselves and use the wisdom of our tūpuna to create a better future for our tamariki and mokopuna. Nō reira tēnā tātou katoa.