Prioritise Māori and Pasifika providers in vax rollout to children, and keep pushing for over 90%

The Green Party is calling on the Government to do everything it can to boost the Māori vaccination rate to over 90% of the eligible population, and to prioritise Māori and Pasifika providers in the rollout of vaccinations to 5-11 year olds, now that Medsafe has provisionally approved its use for the younger age group.

“We are pleased New Zealand has reached 90% of the eligible population fully vaccinated, but there is still a lot more work to do to ensure Māori, their whānau, friends and communities have the same level of protection from the virus,” says Green Party spokesperson for COVID-19 response Dr Elizabeth Kerekere.

“Right now, only 76% of Māori are fully vaccinated across the country, and 86% first dose. The rate is considerably lower in rural areas and particularly among younger Māori.

“However, the efforts to get our Māori and Pasifika communities vaccinated do continue to trend up, and this is happening because of the remarkable efforts of our community providers and local leaders.

“Reaching the 90% milestone for the eligible population is great news, but it highlights the need for ongoing outreach and mobile vaccination clinics in rural areas, particularly over the holiday period. It is really important we keep working to get our whānau beyond the 90% milestone as quickly as possible.

“Lessons from the vaccination rollout must be learnt as we get ready to vaccinate our tamariki aged five to 11 years. This includes making sure Māori and Pasifika providers are prioritised so they can focus on what works for Māori and Pasifika kids.

“The Greens have always said Māori must be prioritised and empowered to lead their own vaccinations programmes for whānau,” says Dr Elizabeth Kerekere.

ENDS

Volunteer

The Greens are proud to be driven by passionate people like you. Today we need your help to take action on the biggest issues facing Aotearoa. Volu...

Action

Save Auckland's Climate Budget

Sign the petition to stop Mayor Wayne Brown's proposal for dangerous cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weat...

Action

No New Mines 2023

Action

Expand Voting

Now more than ever, young people in Aotearoa are impacted by Government decisions, and they deserve to have a say. We are calling on all Members of...

Action

End Intensive Winter Grazing

Sign the petition to Labour Ministers, to move faster in bringing regulations into force and end intensive winter grazing.

Action

Trains for Climate

Add your name to our open letter urging the Minister for Finance Grant Robertson to save our passenger trains between Wellington, the Wairarapa and...

Action

Healthy Oceans 2022

Join our Healthy Oceans Crew to help us keep the health and protection of our oceans high on the Labour Government’s political agenda.

Action

It's time: A Ministry for Rainbow Communities

Join our call asking the Prime Minister to establish a Ministry for Rainbow Communities that can champion Rainbow issues.

Action

No new mines on conservation land

Sign the open letter asking Labour Ministers to stick to their promise of banning new mining projects on conservation land.

Action

Allow community ownership of our buses

Public transport is an essential service and helps to tackle the climate crisis by reducing our carbon emissions. But there are barriers to communi...

Action

Local Events

We have activists across Aotearoa / New Zealand who are working hard to build a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. This page lists upcomin...

Latest Children Announcements

Story

Greens welcome paid parental leave increase, urge Govt to go further

The Green Party is today welcoming the increase in paid parental leave payments, but is urging the Government to continue supporting families when ...

National would make life harder for people

Christopher Luxon and the National Party are not telling the full story when it comes to childcare, the Green Party says.

Greens welcome childcare support, call for more action

The Green Party is welcoming the modest support for families announced by the Labour Government but calling for more urgent action to ease the pres...

Trust betrayed with passing of OT Bill

By passing the Oversight of Oranga Tamariki Bill in the face of overwhelming opposition from nearly every community, the Labour Government has fail...

Green Party welcomes new report critiquing OT Oversight bill

The Green Party once again calls on the Government to withdraw its Oversight of Oranga Tamariki Bill.

Greens back taihoa call on Oranga Tamariki bill

The Green Party will be voting against the Oranga Tamariki oversight bill as it comes up for second reading in Parliament today.

Story

Only the Green Party will deliver free dental care for all

With more Green MPs we can build on Labour’s announcement today and make dental care free for everyone.

Greens release dental stories collection

The Green Party has today released a collection of stories showing exactly why dental care should be free in Aotearoa.

Marama Davidson Free Dental for All Speech

Ata mārie and welcome.

Green Party promises free dental for all

The Green Party is today promising to make dental care free for everyone in Aotearoa.

Tell us the tooth: Green Party asks Aotearoa to tell their dental care stories

The Green Party are today launching a campaign asking for people to submit their stories of what it’s really like taking care of your oral health i...

Greens urge all political parties to support amendment to ban big pharma ads

The Green Party plans to table an amendment to the Therapeutic Products Bill to ban direct to consumer advertising for prescription medicines.

Story

Dental stories collection reinforces need to invest in kaupapa Māori solutions

The Green Party has released a collection of stories showing the dire need for free dental care in Aotearoa.

Green Party releases policy to return land to Māori

The time is now to be bold and make sure land wrongly taken from Māori is returned.

Greens welcome much needed investment but Labour can go further for Te Ao Māori & Pasifika in the Budget

Today the Green Party’s Te Mātāwaka (Māori and Pasifika) caucus supported the 2023 Budget, but there’s still room for improvement.

Greens call on the government to end perpetual leases

The Green Party calls on the Government to end perpetual leases over Māori land so that Māori landowners can directly control their lands.

Greens support Operation Pātiki restoring name for awa

The Green Party is proud to support Kohupātiki Marae to uphold the mana of their awa.

Greens welcome step forward for Waimana whānau

The Government has finally agreed to meet with the whānau of Te Waimana Kaaku, a step the Green Party says must lead to warm, dry, secure homes bei...

Story

Government gets it right on COVID settings

Maintaining the current COVID-19 isolation requirement is the right decision, the Green Party says.

Summer COVID plan needed

The Green Party has been left wondering if the Government signed off for the summer break before putting in place a COVID plan.

COVID inquiry disappointingly narrow

The Green Party welcomes a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic – but is disappointed with the narrow scope.

Lasting public health measures needed for COVID response ahead of future waves

Winding down COVID powers does nothing to change the fact that stronger public health measures are needed to protect our immunocompromised and disa...

Vital public health measures still missing from COVID response

Strong public health measures are more vital than ever, the Green Party says as the Government removes many longstanding COVID-19 restrictions.

Better long-term planning needed for COVID

COVID-19 is here to stay and so the Government needs to put in place long-term protection measures, including mandatory ventilation standards, the ...