Maori people serving as directors on District Health Boards (DHBs) constantly face a number of ‘negative factors’ such as tokenism, stereotyping and political correctness, a Massey University PhD graduate has said.
According to Dr Joy Panoho, 17 out of 18 directors interviewed by her said that they were the sole advocates of Maori health in their respective roles and that such responsibility had become ‘burdensome.’
As a part of her thesis, Dr Panoho recorded the experience of Maori directors to determine how they perceived their role.
Widening gaps
“They described fulfilling the role of ‘a walking Treaty workshop’ – that was in their own words. Regardless of the best intentions of their Non-Maori counterparts, enormous gaps in understanding about Maori politics, Maori expertise, and Maori networks exist,” she said.
“Well over half the directors recounted incidents of confrontation where they had to educate their Non-Maori counterparts about the underlying issues affecting Maori health. While this then led to improved levels of understanding, it can be quite an exhausting burden.”
Dr Panoho cited ambiguous legislation as a part of the problem. Although the ‘New Zealand Health and Disability Act 2000’ provided for regional Maori representation in DHB health governance, misunderstandings exist, she said.
“Most people believe that according to the Act, there ought to be at least two Maori directors on every board. The wording is actually ‘best endeavours’ and hence there are boards that have only one Maori director, and in some cases, none at all.
“For directors with no other Maori counterparts, the situation can be deeply concerning. The appointment process is a top-down one and hence it is not particularly transparent and often unpredictable,” Dr Panoho said.
Distant reality
She said that the way the Government has organised and identified Maori groupings can also be problematic for representation, since it did not reflect the contemporary reality of Maori urbanisation and mobility.
“The Government consultation over who should be appointed to directors’ roles is done through a tribal process, which excludes some potential candidates. This can cause friction between manawhenua and Pan-Maori groups.
“For example, I am Ngapuhi even though I no longer live in Northland. If I wanted to be nominated as a Maori director of a DHB, I would have to go back North,” she said.
Dr Panoho believes that the most difficult challenge faced by Maori directors is the attitude of other directors.
“Many felt there was little cultural or historical understanding of the damage to Maori health brought about by the process of colonisation. Maori directors have valuable grassroots experience that is an important strategic tool for DHBs. This experiential capital is as valuable a resource contribution as, for example, a law degree or an accountancy degree,” she said.
However, most respondents to the survey said that without the existing legislation, there would be little or no Maori representation.
“All participants recognised the importance of having a seat at the table even though progress was at times hard to measure. Most felt a positive impact and there was an opportunity to change attitudes and help turn Maori health statistics around.
“For that sort of transformation to take place, there should be improved understanding of Maori health issues by all DHB members. Everyone at the board table should share the burden of improving Maori health.” Dr Panoho said.
Dr Joy Panoho (Picture courtesy: Massey News)
