Health board changes foreseen

Press, 15 February 1989, Page 2

Health board changes foreseen

OLIVER RIDDELL,

in Wellington

Area health boards will be caught up in the process of Maori devolution, according to the Minister of Maori Affairs, Mr Wetere. He told a seminar for Maori health employees in Porirua yesterday that the process of devolution was not solely the concern of the Maori Affairs Department.

It was inevitable that local government bodies like area health boards would be negotiating directly with those Maori iwi authorities chosen to deliver Government programmes. Iwi authorities would be regarded as credible organisations to be consulted on Maori matters within their tribal regions.

Iwi authorities would expect to have a say in the dispersal of funds to be allocated to Maori people. They would want full involvement in consultations and in sharing resources which health authorities had at their command, he said. To facilitate that involvement, it was imperative that the health sector developed local networks within Maori communities.

Mr Wetere said contact was essential if iwi and local government were to work together productively and effectively.