Sir Tukuitonga shares his elation at his new appointment, and excitement for the upcoming work to be carried out in the developing and training of young doctors who wish to specialise in public health.  

“I look forward to advocating for young doctors to get more resources to train more young people. 

“Our aim is to draw attention to the broad issues of health - not individual health, but groups, where our members, our fellows, can make a contribution in terms of understanding the disease patterns, what causes them and more importantly how we can intervene to try and reduce those threats to various groups, whether they’re Pacific communities, Māori communities, rural residents, or those affected by a particular condition like diabetes.”  

Sir Tukuitonga is a founding member and Board Director of the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group, with professional accolades including serving as CEO of the New Zealand Government’s Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs (now the Ministry for Pacific Peoples), the Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Director of Public Health for New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.  

He was awarded the Knight’s Companion Order of Merit in the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s list in 2022, for his contributions to the Pacific and public health throughout his career.  

Debbie Sorensen, CEO for PMA, relays congratulations to Sir Tukuitonga for his latest accomplishment and appointment.  

“We acknowledge and are proud to have one of our own leaders appointed in such a crucial role within the New Zealand health sector. We continue to be inspired by Sir Collin’s commitment to enhancing health outcomes for Pacific communities as he serves in this new position.”