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Tēnā koe Friend
Today Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie
Ngarewa-Packer launched their COVID-19
Pandemic Policy
“From the outset, the Government has failed to provide equitable
opportunities for Māori to access information, resources and
vaccinations. In fact they have actively blocked our efforts to
protect our communities. I have witnessed the gaps with my very own
eyes” said Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“Every piece of advice given by Tangata Whenua over the course of
this pandemic has been ignored by this Government. And they still
don’t have a plan. Their blatant willingness to ignore Māori health
expert advice is committing us to beauracratic genocide.”
“Their latest mandate programme is a knee-jerk reaction to a
failing system that has not been well thought out. They have
consistently provided a one size fits all approach. A narrow-minded
approach that has vilified the unvaccinated people in this country.
This has caused vaccination hesitancy and the division we see in this
country”
“Te Pāti Māori are fundamentally opposed to Government mandates
because they are a direct attack on our constitutional rights under Te
Tiriti o Waitangi. Māori constantly find ourselves constantly having
to pick up the pieces of reckless Government legislation that
continues to marginalise and criminalize our people. We are still
recovering from legislation forced onto our people and for this reason
we do not trust” said Rawiri Waititi.
“However, we believe that mandates are an important tool that
whānau, hapū, iwi, businesses and communities should be empowered to
use where and when they determine a need. We support them setting
their own tikanga.”
“Had the Government heard Maori in the beginning of this pandemic,
we would not find ourselves in a predicament where we are forcing
people out of jobs, marginalising them further, criminalizing them and
putting their families welfare at risk.”
“We must empower and resource Māori to lead our own Covid-19
response. We must ensure that we provide a holistic approach to the
survival of our people. We are a Party that leaves nobody behind and
we believe our policy strikes a fine balance of ensuring voices are
heard and Tiriti rights protected whilst considering the safety of
Aotearoa in the midst of this pandemic.”
Te Pāti Māori will:
- Empower and resource Māori to lead our own Covid-19 response
- Establish an independent statutory Māori Pandemic Response
Group
- Abolish Government mandates
- Affirm autonomy to set tikanga for tangihanga
- Invest in holistic wellbeing
- Implement a Māori home isolation strategy
- Support whānau who are struggling and have been impacted by
Covid-19
- Keep our international borders closed until Māori vaccination
rates hit 95%
Ends
Māori Party
http://www.maoriparty.org.nz/
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