Rollback of Māori rights drives health funding agency head to resign

A director of the medicine funding agency Pharmac has resigned in protest over a directive from New Zealand's rightwing government that a treaty upholding Māori rights no longer needs to be applied in healthcare funding decisions.

- Eva Corlett

In a letter to Pharmac, David Seymour, the associate health minister and leader of the right-libertarian Act party, set out his expectations of the government agency, including his thoughts on how the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should be applied.

The treaty is an agreement signed by Māori chiefs and the British crown in 1840. The principles that have flowed from it are widely used to help ensure that Māori wellbeing, health, rights and views are factored into policy and decision-making.

The previous Labour government tasked Pharmac with embedding the treaty into its processes following a 2022 report that found the agency had "in all likelihood" contributed to poor health outcomes for Māori.