E-Tangata

“Once you’ve seen the reality of considering ethnicity and the impact that can be made when we consider it, that’s not something easily unlearned. You can try to ignore the evidence, but you can’t deny its existence.” — Dr Anthony Jordan, former Pharmac director.

“Behind the rhetoric about prosperity and clean energy, I hear the voice of a kuia from Hauraki who educated so many of us, including judges, about the vital tests for assessing the value of minerals.” — Catherine Delahunty.

“Academic prowess is one thing, but there’s a whole lot of things that we look for in our doctors and our medical people, and getting the mix right and choosing right is hard and complicated.” — Professor of surgery Jonathan Koea. #HealthcareNZ #HealthSystemReform #PublicHealthNZ #HealthReform #CommunityHealthNZ

“Places like bootcamps, corrective training facilities and prisons are effectively the military arm of the state. And it’s impossible for them to be anything other than that.” — Michael Blakely, who worked at a military-style bootcamp in the 80s. #YouthDevelopmentNZ #ChildWelfare #YouthReform #EducationNZ #ChildAdvocacy

“A good place to start would be to simply admit that there is an issue of racism in our schools, and to start talking about it in our communities and at school.” — Ara Alam-Simmons.

“Far from being unbiased and neutral, mainstream public health practice in Aotearoa is inherently racist, and this bias is currently under-acknowledged by public health professionals and institutions.”— Dr Elana Curtis and Dr Belinda Loring.

“It is an act of extreme bad faith for one party to a treaty to try to change the terms of that treaty without seeking the agreement from the other parties.” — Dr Carwyn Jones.

“I want to change the narrative for the people who live here today. I don’t want them to have to face the same thing as my dad did 60-something years ago, when he finished school and felt he had to move.” — Kat Kaiwai of Tairāwhiti Contractors, on creating jobs on the East Coast.

“I think we have to find ways to connect with our higher selves, our better selves, and our love for our people and each other. And for me, that happens through literature, through stories.” — Tina Makereti.

“How could I have forgotten the harakeke flowers? I had looked at them every summer, my whole life. But I hadn’t remembered them at all.” — Lauren Keenan.