Māori Health Committee
In recognition of the place of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in Aotearoa, the Aotearoa New Zealand Committee established the Māori Health Committee (MHC) in December 2007. In December 2019, the MHC became a standing Board committee.
The MHC is responsible for:
- assisting in the education and training of physicians and paediatricians, facilitating their understanding, knowledge and skills when dealing with Māori patients
- contributing to the development of College policy relating to cultural competence in training, educating and assessment
- actively developing all College policies in respect to Māori health
- informing and advising the College of existing inequalities with Indigenous populations
- ensuring that it and the College promotes the highest standard of Indigenous health in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia
- promoting an increase in Māori participation and retention in the Aotearoa New Zealand physician and paediatric workforce
- supporting initiatives that develop Fellows’ and trainees’ cultural competence and understanding of tikanga Māori values — manaakitanga (hospitality, kindness and support), whanaungatanga (relationships and sense of family connection) and mōhiotanga (knowledge, understanding and insight)
Read the Māori Health Committee By-law (PDF).
Key initiatives
From 2018 to 2028, we're developing and implementing strategic initiatives to improve health outcomes for the Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
We’re committed to making health the norm for all, now.
Māori Health Hui
The Māori Health Committee hosts a biennial Māori Health Hui for the College’s Māori members to reflect, connect and set the direction towards our goal of population parity for Māori in the physician and paediatrician workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Hui reports
2019 (PDF)
2017 (PDF)
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takatini —
"My strength is not that of an individual, but that of a collective"
Māori whakataukī (proverb)
Committee members
Dr Matthew Wheeler, Chair, Fellow representative - Haematology, General & Acute Care Medicine
Dr Danny De Lore, Interim Deputy-Chair, PCHD Representative and Cultural Safety Strategic Partnership Group representative
Dr Diana McNeill, Fellow representative - General & Acute Care Medicine
Dr Julia Reid, Fellow representative - General Paediatrics
Dr Myra Ruka, AMD representative and Education Strategic Partnership Group representative
Dr Kennedy Sarich, Basic Trainee representative - Adult Medicine
Dr Fergus Stewart, Advanced Trainee representative - Adult Medicine
Dr Jade Tamatea, AMD Representative and Education Strategic Partnership Group representative
Dr Tambra Trist, Fellow representative - General Paediatrics