Race-baiting politics hurts all New Zealanders
Wednesday, 18 August 2021
OPINION: National MP Matt Doocey’s recent claims of a ‘race-based’ Covid-19 vaccination roll-out in Canterbury is in itself contradictory given that in his next breath he stated, “Our health system should be based on need first”.
Is it that Mr Doocey is unaware of our growing health inequities which put Māori at the top of the ‘needs first’ vaccination list, or perhaps more likely he is choosing to use the racial division tactics that create scare mongering and dissent in our communities?
After all it was only a matter of months ago that the leader of his party was called out for similar behaviour with her racist comments about the proposed new Māori health authority.
This kind of race-baiting politics isn’t new, but its implications are detrimental not only for Māori but for our wider society.
**READ MORE:
* National MP brands text invite to young Māori for Covid-19 jab race-based
* First Iwi leaders in MidCentral Health district get their Covid-19 vaccines
* Māori doctors address the issue of vaccine hesitancy as the Covid-19 vaccination is set to roll out
* Why do Māori suffer inequality in the health system? One expert says it's 'white privilege'
**
Dr Rawiri Jansen’s response was on point highlighting that Māori have much greater exposure to the impact of Covid-19 but are currently the least vaccinated group in Canterbury with only a quarter vaccinated compared with 32 per cent of Pākehā.
The marae-based initiatives Doocey is attacking are designed to address this inequity and close the gap, not give anyone an unfair advantage. It is driven by focusing on the most in need because we are all safer if everyone in our communities are vaccinated not just some.
We are intrigued by why so many Pākehā continue to be fearful of targeted and evidence-based approaches to removing the barriers for Māori. These attitudes just serve to perpetuate inequity.
Whatever happened to He Waka Eke Noa: We Are All in This Together’ ? It would appear we have quickly lost sight of our team of five million.
Doocey’s comments were coy but deliberate in inciting anti-Māori sentiments and provide an insight into how racism and inequality are sustained today.
He encourages us to approach health as a zero-sum game where gains in Māori health will result in losses for Pākehā health and that is just blatantly untrue.
The Side Eye’s ‘Two New Zealands: The 2,700 Day Gap’ clearly shows how policies, practices and bias create barriers that result in Māori dying seven years earlier than non-Māori.
A recent Ngāi Tahu analysis of Ministry of Health and DHB data estimates it will take 42 years to close the life expectancy gap between Māori and non-Māori based on current rates of progress.
There is no place for these ongoing inequities in 21st Century Aotearoa – our people are dying unnecessarily, and our health system needs to act.
Inequality is no accident, rather it is the result of deliberate efforts past and present to create barriers to access. Doocey’s criticism of the very efforts to tear those barriers down actively supports sustaining inequalities and shows us why disadvantage is so hard to move.
It doesn’t need to be this way and rather than succumbing to fear we just need to remember we are all in this together and equity in health ensures equal opportunity to live long, happy and healthy lives.
Doocey is no stranger to our marae in Canterbury. The next time he is welcomed and fed by our kaumātua I hope he takes the time to contemplate their very real experiences of health inequalities, and the fact they are likely to leave this world seven years earlier than their non-Māori friends.
We are all hurt by inequality, and we all benefit from a fairer and just future.
Eruera Tarena is the Kaiahautū/Executive Director of Tokona Te Raki, a Ngāi Tahu social innovation lab focused on achieving equity for all Māori by 2040. Adrienne Anderson is from Ngāi Tahu and a Comms advisor and strategist working primarily with iwi.