The message Peeni Henare got loud and clear last year was that many Māori want to hear Covid updates from their own people. That’s part of the reason he made the decision to stay in Wellington this lockdown, writes political editor Jo Moir.
While there are continuous new lessons to learn about the Covid response, the Associate Health Minister for Māori says when it comes to getting vaccinated – the buck stops with individual Māori.
“The buck stops with our people to come forward and get vaccinated. We’ve done iwi campaigns, we’ve done health provider campaigns, but ultimately the buck stops with our people,’’ he says.
His comments to Newsroom come on the eve of vaccinations opening up to New Zealanders of every age, and demonstrate the pressure he feels to get the large population of unvaccinated young Māori on board.
Henare knows this might require a new rulebook.
He wants to explore every option, including targeted incentives for Māori rangatahi (young people), and he’s happy to take on the critics who claim it’s special treatment.
“If there was a missed opportunity it was getting our people to come forward.’’
– Peeni Henare
When Covid hit New Zealand’s shores and the country went into lockdown on March 25 last year, Henare hunkered down in his Tamaki Makaurau electorate and learnt the art of being an online MP.
He played a pivotal role helping Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern communicate Māori-specific messages, particularly around restrictions to the number of people who could attend tangihanga.
“I worked my hardest to try and get the messaging across through the Prime Minister, who is a good communicator.
“I think she did a good job of explaining things like tangihanga, but I accept the notion that our people want to hear it from their own people,’’ he told Newsroom.
When Delta arrived in recent weeks it coincided with an operation to get New Zealanders and Afghans who had helped Kiwi soldiers out of Afghanistan as the Taliban took control.
As Defence Minister, Henare was in the thick of that operation and when it was clear national lockdown was coming, he spoke to Ardern about what to do.
“She was clear with me, given what was unfolding in Afghanistan, that she would prefer it if I was in Wellington.
“And on balance with that and the unfolding Covid situation, it was decided the Prime Minister would focus on Covid and it was agreed I would front Afghanistan.’’
Henare told Newsroom he’s “completely okay’’ with taking the lead on defence but part of his decision to stay in Wellington was to be available to front on Māori health if the opportunity arises.
It hasn’t yet at the 1pm press conferences with only Ardern, deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson and Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins taking the stage, but Henare says there’s more to it than that.
“There are more avenues than that, and for the most part I’ve been given licence from my colleagues to do that across a number of platforms. I’ve been on national television and national radio speaking about both defence and Covid.’’
“And if I have the opportunity at a 1pm press conference, then I’m here for that,’’ Henare says.
He’s taken time to look back on previous lockdowns and believes the messaging around the Covid response for Māori should have been better. Specifically, there should have been more of it.
“Many people in those first three months as I was going around the country were either lazy, had a huge dose of apathy or hadn’t quite had their questions answered before they were ready to get the vaccine.”
– Peeni Henare
Between March and May this year, Henare hit the road and visited numerous iwi, hapū, Māori health providers and marae to spread the message about the vaccination rollout.
In March, $40 million was announced for Māori health providers to train vaccinators and get a jump-start on making sure Māori with underlying health conditions and kaumatua and kuia, including their wider whānau, were being vaccinated.
Henare denies there wasn’t any vaccine prioritisation given to Māori, but accepts for some reason they never got the message.
“I engaged with a whole heap of people and gave them the licence to do the messaging, for the most part, themselves. They knew the community, so we supported that initiative.
“But many people in those first three months as I was going around the country were either lazy, had a huge dose of apathy or hadn’t quite had their questions answered before they were ready to get the vaccine,’’ Henare told Newsroom.
“The feedback I got when travelling around was not necessarily anti-vaccine – there were certainly questions and they were wanting the right information before getting vaccinated.’’
Henare says it’s a nonsense to say there hasn’t been enough opportunity to get vaccinated on marae or via a mobile clinic in remote communities.
“We’ve been doing that for ages, we’re already doing that. The challenge now is to do even more of it.’’
Māori were also prioritised more widely in South Auckland in cases where they were working on the frontline and at the border, Henare says.
“If there was a missed opportunity it was getting our people to come forward.’’
Since June, Henare’s focus has been on how to target young Māori, who as of Wednesday are also eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.
“I’m not satisfied we’ve done all we can to support our whānau, not just through the Delta outbreak, but through the vaccine rollout.’’
– Peeni Henare
While he says the “fear of Delta’’ has got more Māori out getting vaccinated than ever before, there needs to be a whole new strategy when it comes to enticing rangatahi to do the same.
He says there’s a genuine worry that just as vaccines are ramping up, supply issues could lead to fewer appointments being available, and Māori have traditionally been at the “inequitable end of those discussions’’.
“Delta has proven we have to adjust our playbook,’’ he says.
While some work has gone into preparing for Delta and lifting the number of Māori who are vaccinated, Henare says he’s still “not comfortable’’ everything that needed to be done to prepare for the rollout has happened.
“Some of those missed opportunities are becoming more and more apparent now, around communication.
“I’m not satisfied we’ve done all we can to support our whānau, not just through the Delta outbreak, but through the vaccine rollout.’’
The new challenge is finding ways to “entice and incentivise young Māori to come forward for the vaccine’’.
“One idea was offering a free ticket to a concert if you get fully vaccinated. While that might sound hair-balled and crazy, if that’s what will work then it’s something to think about.’
“It’s no good just to say you need a targeted campaign for young people – now we need to look at what that is.’’
Henare accepts some people will question why young Māori should get an incentive over others.
“I’ve been wearing that criticism since I became Associate Health Minister. People say why a Māori Health Authority or why have programmes targeted towards achieving better Māori health outcomes?’’
Henare says it all comes back to equity.
“Māori health equity must remain at the forefront of our thinking – that doesn’t change because we’re in a lockdown or confronted by Delta.’’
