Commission queries plan’s effect on Māori

The Human Rights Commission is concerned the Government’s Covid-19 plan does not give priority to ensuring high vaccination rates among Māori before easing restrictions.

Chief Commissioner Paul Hunt is calling for careful analysis of the Te Tiriti o Waitangi and human right implications of launching the ‘‘traffic light system’’ once 90 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, announced on Friday.

Māori vaccination rates are lower than the general population, and Māori health experts and providers say they had warned the Government to prioritise Māori in the roll-out, but were ignored.

The commission’s concerns about the traffic light system add to mounting opposition, after a panel of health experts tasked with reviewing the pandemic management system published its scathing report with similar concerns into the draft.

They suggested that to be successful, the framework needed to be based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and explicitly state saving Māori lives as a goal.

They wanted visible Māori and Pacific leadership of the system, and a vaccination target should include vulnerable groups like Māori and Pasifika, something which did not make the final cut.

Hunt said yesterday that loosening restrictions before full vaccination rates among Māori were above 90 per cent could leave some communities vulnerable to the continued spread of Covid-19.

‘‘While the Government has provided funding to boost vaccination roll-out to Māori communities these initiatives may take time to be effective unless implemented with urgency.’’

The country was now at a pivotal moment in the fight against the virus, and ‘‘our human rights must be clearly understood’’.

‘‘It is critical we continue to protect the fundamental rights to life and healthcare and protection of people in Aotearoa New Zealand, while preserving the safeguards we have in place to avoid discrimination and a disproportionate limit on the rights and freedoms of groups or individuals.’’

The commission was reviewing the human rights implications of the vaccination certificates policy, including how they would be used in practice, and in what circumstances, Hunt said.

Human rights were not just about rights, but also about responsibilities to each other, he said.