Advancing Hauora Māori through Connection and Action

Last week, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) brought together senior salaried doctors and dentists for their 38th conference themed ‘Hitting the Target, Missing the Point’, to explore some of the biggest challenges and opportunities affecting the health sector today.  

Ora Toa Director, Michael Rongo chaired a panel on Hauora Māori, where three panel members; Māia Lockyer (Medical Student, University of Otago), Ariana Kaa (Hauora Māori Specialist – ICU & mate Māori whare tūpākaku | Mortuary, Christchurch Hospital) and Louisa Wall (Tūwharetoa Iwi Māori Partnership Board), shared insights from their respective fields and explored how kaupapa Māori approaches can help drive more equitable health outcomes for whānau Māori.  

“It was a really good informative session,” says Michael. “What stood out was the commitment of people across the country who are working to improve outcomes for Māori. There is a huge amount of mahi happening, and it was invaluable to bring those experiences together in one place.” 

The panel sparked thoughtful discussion from attendees, many of whom reflected on the importance of creating space for honest conversations about inequities in the health system and what meaningful change looks like in practice.  

“They had genuine concerns and questions on how to improve and better give effect to the Treaty and Māori values. There are senior practitioners out there who have a real willingness to learn and want to have these conversations but they have a reluctance to do this openly in their workplace. So, this was the platform for them to ask those pātai of our panelists,” says Michael.  

A key message from Michael was that improving engagement with Māori was not about following a checklist.  

“It’s about relationships. Take the time to get to know Māori in your community. Have those 100 cups of tea and get stuck-in with ‘tea towel-tanga’ – help out at marae, build the trust, show up and contribute. If we’re serious about achieving better outcomes, we need to invest in authentic relationships and be willing to do the mahi alongside our communities.”  

Ngā mihi to ASMS for creating a platform for these important conversations and to the speakers and attendees who contributed to a thoughtful and inspiring discussion on the future of hauora Māori.