Our Commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi

When you engage with Mary Potter Hospice, you can expect care and practice guided by respect, partnership, and equity.

Our commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi shapes how we listen, how we work, and how we care for people at the end of life. It informs our approach to culturally safe care, equity of access, and meaningful partnership with Māori.

Our work is guided by the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and informed by ongoing partnership, learning, and accountability.

We are guided by Māori leadership and advice through Te Pou Tautoko, our Māori advisory group, and by Te Taikākā, our Māori Service Plan, which supports culturally appropriate care for Māori patients and their whānau.

Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is an ongoing responsibility. You can expect that we will continue to listen, learn, and work in partnership to improve equity, dignity, and choice in the care we provide.

Whetū i te rangi – the ‘stars’ in the sky

According to Māori mythology the stars are a spiritual connection to the cosmos. They provide a calendar for cultivation and food gathering. They represent a navigational map for ‘way finders’ and travellers, keeping them safe on their journey. They are a shining reminder of loved ones whose life-journey has ended.

As the stars guided the great Māori navigators to Aotearoa, Mary Potter Hospice supports and guides our patients and their families or whānau on this journey. Each patient, too, is like a star guiding the Hospice and its work. And our patients are with us, in our memories and hearts, like the stars in the sky, when their journey ends.

The Hospice’s Māori advisory group, Te Pou Tautoko chose the phrase ‘whetū i te rangi’ to depict this philosophy.