NZNO acting chief executive Mairi Lucas said it was time to be courageous and “active disruptors” for change. “NZNO has a role to play and is accountable to the voices of our communities.”
Lucas said inequities had impacted on her own life and that of her whānau and children. NZNO’s kaupapa was to “create a fair and just health system” which would better support iwi, hapū and whānau.
“We need everybody to be on the waka,” she told staff. “We’ve done the talk for years and now we need to be able to walk it.”
NZNO acting president Tracey Morgan said COVID-19 had further highlighted inequities in the system which needed changing. “Members need to know we are going to support them.”
Board member Diane McCulloch said she had come to New Zealand from a system of apartheid in South Africa, “so I know what it’s like and I do not want anyone else to go through that”.
But here, she found the problem was “rife and was being swept under the carpet”.
Speaking about aroha, board member Anamaria Watene said in the “wider sense” it was about relating to others with empathy, respect and generosity.