Pathways to Transform Institutional (and Everyday) Racism in New Zealand

Abstract

Racism has become a normalised part of New Zealand society despite the government's endorsement of human rights treaties and the founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The outcomes of racism are manifest in the significant and enduring disparities in economic and social well-being between Māori and non-Māori. New Zealand has a range of strategies that attempt to deal with inequities between population groups and is developing a national human rights plan but currently lacks a coherent national strategy to eliminate racism. In this paper we offer four pathways to this goal as a contribution to a possible national strategy which i) addresses historical racism, ii) improves the racial climate, iii) pursues equity by applying systems change in public institutions, and iv) mobilises civil society through collective impact.

Realising the rhetoric: refreshing public health providers’ efforts to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi in New Zealand

“…Over 170 years the colonial process has seen significant erosion of Māori power and self-determination and the steady rise of power in the settler dominated state, despite Māori resistance. Arguably, Treaty-based aspirations and pursuit of social equity fall on both treaty parties so that the domain of health equity between Māori and non-Māori as a requirement for social justice and honouring Te Tiriti (Reid and Robson 2007, Sheridan et al 2011, Came and McCreanor 2015, is a key responsibility of the state. Beyond an equity imperative, Treaty obligations extend to ensuring Māori input into decision-making.…”

“…Roles and processes need to be embedded. Relying on pockets of individual excellence is unlikely to bring sustained change, rather systems change seems a more potent pathway (Came and McCreanor 2015). Correct pronunciation of Te Reo Māori and a working knowledge of tikanga is basic core competency of all public health practitioners (Public Health Association 2007).…”

“…Generic health providers that position themselves to enable Māori aspirations around tino rangatiratanga were scarce within the survey. Such goals can only realistically be achieved through ongoing dialogue and attempts at partnership, power sharing (Huygens 2006) and systems change (Came and McCreanor, 2015), and indeed constitutional transformation (Matakite Mai, 2016).…”

Transforming institutional racism at an Australian hospital

“…Focusing on the motivations and intentions of individuals cannot eliminate the structures that generate racial disparities. 44 The role for individual practitioners is in recognising poorer outcomes and pursuing organisational change. Lasting change only occurs within health systems by examining processes of power imbalance and identity.…”

“…17 Finally, both equity and quality assurance processes have been proposed as the means to change institutional racism. 44 Resistance to dismantling institutional racism can manifest in denial: 'when white people say race does not matter and there are only small pockets of racism within Australian society, they are speaking from a position whereby the possessive nature of their race privilege remains invisible to them'. 47(p92) Understanding the complexity and harmfulness of institutional racism can be difficult for 'those who have neither the eyes to see it in practice nor the moral sensitivity to feel its outcomes'.…”