Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern gave staff 36 hours to organise Māori vaccination tour

Saturday, 29 January 2022

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited Murupara in October and walked through the drive-through vaccination centre.

The Prime Minister’s office gave Māori health providers little more than 24 hours notice ahead of a whirlwind October trip promoting vaccination.

On October 7, Jacinda Ardern travelled to Rotorua from Wellington, and spent the best part of three days touring Murupara, Wairoa, Gisborne, and towns on the East Coast.

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Vaccination rates in Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, and the East Coast were well below the national average at the time of the trip. In Murupara, more than 30 per cent of the population remain unvaccinated, while much of the East Coast is more than 80 per cent fully vaccinated, and Tairāwhiti is about 500 doses away from reaching the 90 per cent threshold.

Emails obtained under the Official Information Act show planning for the trip began less than two days earlier, on Tuesday, October 5, when the PM’s events manager advised of a rough plan to tour Gisborne and Bay of Plenty, in particular.

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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern watched an East Coast rugby game in Ruatoria during the tour.

“The PM is keen to get out and about, and visit Māori vaccination providers/vaccination centres in areas with large Māori populations in hard to reach/rural places,” the email, sent at 1.43pm, said.

Less than four hours later, at 5.21pm, the events manager revealed that the trip would be starting in just over 36 hours.

“So, this moved faster than expected,” they wrote.

“The PM would like to go on vaccination focused visits starting from this Thursday!”

A last-minute request was sent to the Ministry of Health on Wednesday afternoon, seeking vaccination data for the towns that would be visited, and a response was sent through at 5.30pm.

There were several apologies from staff trying to organise events or visits during the trip, acknowledging the late notice.

By Wednesday night, as the finishing touches were being put on plans in Murupara and Rotorua the next day, one parliamentary staffer detailed the transport plans.

“I think this all sounds like the perfect roadie myself – go with the flow and know everything will work out somehow!”

Dr Rawiri Taonui said the PM should have given more notice ahead of a trip promoting Māori vaccination. (File photo)

A spokesman for Ardern told Stuff the visit was the very first undertaken by the Prime Minister once she resumed regional travel when the country moved down to alert level two during last year’s Delta outbreak.

“At the time we were undertaking daily assessments of when it would be appropriate for the Prime Minister to start making visits

“The purpose of the trip was to encourage vaccination in the region and hear from front-line staff and providers about the barriers facing the rollout.

John Tamihere said there has never been a plan to target vaccination for Māori. (File photo)

“Usually visits are planned well in advance, but it’s also not unusual for them to be undertaken at short notice. In this instance getting out and supporting vaccinations in a region with low rates was deemed a priority.

“The Prime Minister has visited the region twice to promote vaccinations and also prioritised travel to other regions with lower vaccination uptake, such as Northland.

“At the time we received positive feedback from providers and those getting vaccinated who valued the opportunity to engage with the Prime Minister.”

Dr Rawiri Taonui, a Covid-19 data analyst, said he sees the Prime Minister’s trip as “50/50 each way”.

”If you’re looking at building cross-cultural relationships, dealing with Māori, it’s expected you should give ample notice,” Taonui said.

”On the other hand, there was a lot of concern at the time about Māori infection and vaccination rates, and the Prime Minister probably doesn’t have a lot of time.”

He said there has been a pattern, however, of Māori not being consulted throughout the pandemic, and essentially being an afterthought.

”The lesson we’ve learned is it’s really important to address the inequalities for Māori, and to consult and consult early.”

John Tamihere, chief executive of Whānau Ora, said he isn’t surprised by the lack of forward planning for trips like the one the Prime Minister took.

”We all know there was never a Māori vaccination plan,” Tamihere said. “The plan was to throw money at the problem. I don’t know what happened [to the money].”

Tamihere said Māori have been successful in getting through the Delta outbreak, and raising vaccination rates, “despite, or in spite of” the government’s work.