Maori input aim of health reforms

By EUGENE BINGHAM political reporter

At least two Maori representatives will be required on each of the new health boards established under legislation introduced to Parliament yesterday.

Together with a new Treaty of Waitangi clause, the requirement to include Maori on the boards marks a Government drive to boost tangata whenua involvement in the health sector.

Health Minister Annette King said yesterday that while the old structures had been successful in increasing the number of Maori providing Maori healthcare, "we have done better than that ... We've put in place a method for [Maori] to be more involved in the governance."

Reforms contained in the Public Health and Disability Bill will set up 21 district health boards (DHBs) to replace the existing health bureaucracy.

The boards will have up to 11 members - seven elected by local residents at triennial elections and four appointed by the minister.

Annette King said the process would allow her to ensure that each board had the right mix of skills and reflected the population they represented.

The minister will be required to ensure that Maori representation on the board is proportional to the number of Maori within the local population, with a minimum of two.

Advice from the Treasury and the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit said the Government faced legal risks by including the clause in the bill. But Annette King said the risks were worth taking. "We made a commitment to Maori there would be a partnership approach."

Opposition parties warn that the $12 million restructuring process risks unsettling the health sector and will prove a waste of health dollars.

"The law is a recipe for more upheaval, bureaucracy, staff changes, cost and uncertainty," said National MP Wyatt Creech.

Each DHB will be required to appoint three standing committees to advise it on various aspects, including hospital governance. In addition, four committees will be established to advise the minister.

"The health sector will have boards, committees and board and committee members coming out its ears," said Mr Creech.

The Government expects the bill to become law in November.