Our consumer advisory group

Terms of reference

The terms of reference for the consumer advisory group te kāhui mahi ngātahi can be downloaded here:

• Word version (2.2MB, docx)
• PDF version (723KB, pdf)

Minutes

Minutes 2024

• 5 April 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 5 April 2024 (425KB, pdf | 575KB, docx)
• 9 February 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 9 February 2024 (1MB, pdf | 1.9MB, docx)
• 31 May 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 31 May 2024 (247KB, pdf | 91KB, docx)
• 25 July 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 25 July 2024 (407KB, pdf | 1.4MB, docx)
• 20 September 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 20 September 2024 (313KB, pdf | 109KB, docx)
• 12 November 2024. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 12 November 2024 (316KB, pdf | 105KB, docx)

Minutes 2023

• 10 November 2023. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 10 November 2023 (971KB, pdf | 1.3MB docx)
• 7 September 2023. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 7 September 2023 (605KB, pdf | 435KB, docx)
• 29 May 2023. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 29 May 2023 (537KB, pdf | 133KB, docx)
• 4 April 2023. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 4 April 2023 (180KB, pdf | 83KB, docx)
• 10 February 2023. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi | consumer advisory group meeting held on 10 February 2023 (494KB, pdf | 163KB, docx)

Minutes 2022

• 15 November 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 15 November 2022 (347KB, pdf | 146KB, docx)
• 4 October 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 4 October 2022 (246KB, pdf | 147KB, docx)
• 16 August 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 16 August 2022 (269KB, pdf | 152KB, docx)
• 28 June 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi  / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 28 June 2022 (273KB, pdf | 135KB, docx)
• 17 May 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 17 May 2022 (175KB, pdf | 129KB, docx)
• 29 March 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 29 March 2022 (193KB, pdf |  117KB, docx)
• 10 February 2022. Minutes of Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 10 February 2022 (216KB, pdf | 122KB, docx)

Minutes 2021

• 25 November 2021. Minutes of the Te kāhui mahi ngātahi / the consumer advisory group meeting held on 25 November 2021 (223KB, pdf | 114KB, docx)
• 25 October 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 25 October 2021 (233KB, pdf |  114KB, docx)
• 14 October 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 14 October 2021 (207KB, pdf | 114KB, docx)
• 2 September 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 2 September 2021 (164KB, pdf | 110KB, docx)
• 22 July 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 22 July 2021 (174KB, pdf | 110KB, docx)
• 10 June 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 10 June 2021 (205KB, pdf)
• 29 April 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 29 April 2021 (187KB, pdf)
• 4 February 2021. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 4 February 2021 (183KB, pdf)

Minutes 2020

• 5 November 2020. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 5 November 2020 (251KB, pdf)
• 27 August 2020. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 27 August 2020 (323KB, pdf)
• 9 July 2020. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 9 July 2020 (283KB, pdf)
• 16 April 2020. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 16 April 2020 (206KB, pdf)
• 30 January 2020. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 30 January 2020 (264KB, pdf)

Minutes 2019

• 5 November 2019. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 5 November 2019 (193KB, pdf)
• 27 June 2019. Minutes of the advisory group meeting held on 27 June 2019 (279KB, pdf)

Past members

Martine Abel-Williamson (2017-20)

Muriel Tunoho (2018-22)

Rowena Lewis (Chair) – (2017-23)

Frank Bristol (2017-23)

Ngatamaine Mareko-Johnson (2022-25)

Boyd Broughton (2023-25)

Angie Smith (co-chair, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Ruapani ki Waikaremoana, Ngāi Tūhoe)

Angie comes from Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay, and is passionate about serving her community as an advocate for equitable health services.

Her Mum had a stroke while visiting Auckland, and swift responses from medical teams led to a positive outcome. However, with her mum being elderly and Māori and living rurally in Wairoa, she has experienced challenges in receiving equitable health services, and the outcome could have been quite different.

Angie’s experience with her mum led her to advocate for consumers and whānau who were harmed or who have lost a loved one and experienced trauma. She is clear that ‘we must have a say in our own health’. Consumers have the right to expect quality health services, to be treated with respect no matter their culture, religion, social and ethnic needs, values and beliefs. She feels strongly that those of us who can represent consumers and whānau should do so. 

She takes pride in advocating for her community, working locally with Tihei Wairoa Clinical Governance Group, having been a community representative on the regional Hawke’s Bay Health consumer council for whānau who couldn’t speak for themselves, working alongside an amazing and diverse group of people in the Te Tāhū Hauora te kāhui mahi ngātahi consumer advisory group and being supported by Te Tāhū Hauora to help strengthen consumer and whānau voices. 

Angie says her main message would be ‘know your rights and use your voice’. 

 

Russ Aiton (co-chair)

Russ is the current chair of the West Coast DHB consumer council and chair of the national group of DHB consumer council chairs. He is also a member of the commission consumer network group, the National Quality Forum and the Chairs of Executive Groups Strategic Forum.

Other groups Russ sits on are; Mental Health & Addiction System Co-design Group, Clinical Board and Clinical Advisory Group, National Bowel Screening Steering Group, COVID-19 Oversight Group

Russ has worked in both public and private enterprises in the UK, primarily in the National Health Service in human resources, organisational development and project management. He previously owned a consultancy working as an external auditor for the UK Security Industry Authority.

Now a New Zealand citizen, Russ and his wife have lived in Nelson Creek on the West Coast for several years. He is involved in many community groups including as secretary of the Nelson Creek Community Society Inc. Russ has previously worked with the Nelson Brain Injury Association and later provided admin/project support to Brain Injury New Zealand.

Russ is interested in the challenges that living in a rural area and accessing equitable health care raises. His significant cardiac issues have meant inpatient stays in Grey Base and Christchurch hospitals where he has had experience of issues like ‘being in the system’ to ‘rural discharge’ and the impact it had on his partner and whānau.

Delphina Soti (Auckland)

Delphina is general manager for the Society of St Vincent de Paul (Vinnies Auckland) which she has led for the last ten years. This NGO and charitable trust is dedicated to the care of people in South Auckland.

Two major areas of focus for Delphina is a youth programme and large food bank that service the needs of Pacific peoples & Māori in South Auckland. These services have grown significantly over the years and in particular recently with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delphina is connected to and works with over 40 organisations in the Auckland area which provide crucial services for vulnerable populations. Her skills as both a youth worker for twenty years and as manager of the Vinnies places her well as a strategic partner and consumer to provide input to the Commissions Consumer Advisory group.

Having had her own experiences of inequity through personal health issues, Delphina is passionate about addressing issues of inequity in the health sector, advocating for the needs of both mainstream youth and Pacifica communities and empowering them when seeking health and wellbeing services.

Jodie Bennett (Kāti Kuri, Kāi Tahu)

Jodie (Kāti Kurī and Kāi Tahu) is the Peer Strategic Lead for Pathways, a national mental health and addictions service provider. 
 
Her own lived experience and subsequent positive recovery outcome have led to a passion to help and support others to navigate their own journey of recovery from mental distress. 
 
The kindness and support shown to Jodie, particularly access to Peer Support workers as part of her recovery journey, led to a change in career from corporate communications, lobbying and public relations to using her skills and networking abilities to help others through collaboration, co-design and Lived Experience leadership. 
 
Jodie found a lot of healing in reconnecting to her culture and te ao Māori. This reconnection has assisted greatly in connecting well with iwi and whānau and addressing some of the inequities for Māori with mental health and addictions. 
 
Having two neurodiverse children has led to another of Jodie’s strong areas of interest and she is particularly interested in giving voice to her community. 
 
Jodie is delighted to have extended her term on the rōpū for a further three years and looks forward to sharing her expertise at a governance level. 

Mary Schnackenberg (Auckland)

Mary Schnackenberg has an extensive relationship with the disability community, specifically with blind/vision impaired people. She has served in leading roles with the likes of Blind Citizens NZ; The Braille Authority of New Zealand Aotearoa Trust; The Ministry of Health, Disability Directorate, Consumer Consortium; and PHARMAC Consumer Advisory Committee.

From 1984 until 2008, Mary managed the accessible formats production and library at a leading charity, the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. Since 2008 she has worked as a consultant and braille producer in the disability sector.

Mary comes from a human rights background and is increasingly conscious of inequities across New Zealand society. Mary enjoys the challenging role of being a consumer advisor, having to think about a wide range of issues and consider many perspectives.

Mary is also a member of the Commission’s Consumer Network group.

Lisa Lawrence (Nelson)

Lisa lives in Nelson, where she has strong connections with the voices and perspectives of provincial/rural communities and Māori hapori. Lisa’s lived experience includes her experience of maternal health and mental health services, and support for her father and other family members. Her consumer advisor experience includes being a lay representative on the New Zealand Psychologists Board, a Māori consumer representative for specific New Zealand College of Midwives audit/review projects, a member and chair of the Pharmac consumer advisory committee and a current member of the Māori advisory committee to the Nelson Bays Primary Health board.

Lisa feels it is important for those who can contribute and represent the consumer voice to do so, and for this representation to expand so more diverse and experienced people can add their thoughts and aspirations to the kōrero over time.  

Lisa feels the code of expectations for health entities’ engagement with consumers and whānau increases opportunities to for consumers to shape health service provision. She also recognises the key role of Te Tāhū Hauora in this work. Both factors have motivated her to join Te Kāhui Mahi Ngātahi Consumer Advisory Group.