To anyone paying attention, the inequity embedded in the health system is undeniable. A new report from the Waitangi Tribunal lays that bare. Gabrielle Baker explains the findings, and what the government needs to do to prove it takes them seriously Two-and-a-half years after it pinpointed health as a priority for investigation, the Waitangi Tribunal … Read more
Māori are looking to the Wellbeing Budget to increase targeted funding for initiatives like Whānau Ora, a system that, according to its architect, still hasn’t reached its potential. Whānau Ora was one of the Māori party’s flagship policies. In 2010, a partnership with the Key government secured its implementation. Over nearly a decade, it has been … Read more
Indigenous people have always had ecological perspectives on health, which have only recently entered ‘mainstream’ discourse, and the scope now is planetary health, writes Rebekah Jaung. Good intentions pave the road to inequity in health systems around the world. Whether it’s healthy eating guidelines that would require poor families to spend almost all their income … Read more
The government recently announced that it would ban smoking in cars when children under 18 are present, making the act a fineable offence. But social scientist Dr Kyro Selket argues the decision isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. On Sunday, I stopped at my local Franklin takeaway for one of their exceptional butter chicken … Read more
Jack Tapsell is the product of a family dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Māori. The recent University of Otago medical graduate talks to Leonie Hayden about carrying on the legacy of his father and grandfather. As descendants of Phillip Tapsell, a Danish sailor who settled at Maketū near Rotorua in 1830, and Te Arawa … Read more
Whānau Ora is under review, with the findings being released this month. Dr Chris Tooley speculates on what the future holds. Whānau Ora was set up by the Māori Party in 2010. It is an intensive intervention programme aimed at and defined by whānau, delivered upon kaupapa Māori frameworks. Kaiārahi (navigators) work with whānau to … Read more
For three weeks in October, the Waitangi Tribunal started its long task of hearing claims that are part of Wai 2575 – the Kaupapa Inquiry into health services and outcomes for Māori. Gabrielle Baker reports. This is not intended to be newsy analysis, nor is it an insightful history essay. I’m simply not qualified to … Read more
As we enter the third phase of summer, the pōhutukawa are flowering and mullet are leaping. Want to know more? Check out the maramataka for November. Hopefully you picked fun activities from last month’s column and maybe even started your veggie garden. For those who did and planted on the maramataka dates your garden should be … Read more
Physiotherapist Ricky Bell pursued groundbreaking research into holistic approaches to obesity and Māori because that’s what his community needed… even if it meant his reputation as a fisherman had to suffer. Ngāti Hine rangatira Te Ruki Kawiti initially refused to sign Te Tiriti o Waitangi, believing it would lead to further loss of land for Māori. … Read more
Medical student Kera Sherwood-O’Regan on what the student loan extension means for Māori studying medicine. “Have you seen the news?!” There’s nothing like waking up to dozens of messages and tweets to jolt you out of bed with a deep sense of dread. I tried to keep a lid on the panic as I wondered … Read more
Calls for adequate funding for New Zealand’s midwives have led to discussions about how best to support pregnant people and their whānau through birth and beyond. Hinerangi Rhind-Wiri from Māori public health organisation Hāpai Te Hauora asks if we are considering the distinct and important needs of Māori midwives and whānau alike. Midwives’ call to action for pay … Read more
One hundred and fifty Māori medical practitioners, doctors, nurses and medical graduates converged on Rotorua in April to discuss the Māori health Kaupapa Inquiry. Ātea’s rongoā expert Donna Kerridge made the case for Māori health framework before her peers. “Rongoā Māori is a threat to the medical economy because it is about sharing knowledge, not selling … Read more
Last weekend the New Zealand Māori Council with the National Hauora Coalition hosted a hui to discuss Wai 2575, the Waitangi Tribunal’s inquiry into Health Services and Outcomes. Gabrielle Baker was there. For some of the people assembled at the national hui on Māori health issues, this was a long awaited chance to talk about … Read more
Māori, Pacific and low income groups have health outcomes well below the rest of the population. In Dunedin there’s a community that’s come up with the medicine to treat itself. On the grounds of an old school in the South Dunedin suburb of Caversham, there’s a village of healthcare services that’s a vision into a … Read more
The success or failure of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state welfare abuse will depend on how much attention it gives to Māori boys – and a change in New Zealand’s attitude, writes Aaron Smale. Years ago while reading Anne Else’s 1991 book A Question of Adoption, I came to a chapter that talked … Read more
When we think of berries we think of the delicious summer varieties – raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and more. But Aotearoa has an abundance of native autumn berries, if you know where to look. For some of us our childhood memories of berries might range from picking wild blackberries on our way to school or trekking … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Māori and Pacific kids are sick of cold, damp, crowded houses. So when are we going to start treating poor quality housing as the health crisis it is, asks general practitioner Bryn Jones. This week Simon Bridges acknowledged that the National government might not have “shown it was doing enough on housing” … Read more
An app that gives parents important information and rewards them for attending appointments is being tested on the East Coast. Rural New Zealand gets the sharp end of a lot of our worst stats – suicide, poverty, unemployment, health and wellbeing. Nowhere more so than the East Coast of the North Island, which includes the … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In the final installment of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker sums up the core values needed to make big changes to our health system. When … Read more
Karaka berries are a good source of protein and carbohydrates but can be toxic if not prepared properly. Rongoā and traditional healing practices tutor Donna Kerridge shares the many excellent attributes of this beautiful berry. The flowers of the karaka (Corynocarpus laevigatus) herald the appearance of the stars Kopu and Tautoru in July. As the … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In part five of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker looks at what we should expect from Māori health providers and how to get them where … Read more
In part four of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker looks at where social investment and health intersect and asks if we’re spending money on the right services. In previous weeks I’ve talked about equity, inequality and Māori involvement in decision making. These … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In part three of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker asks how we can be better Treaty partners in the quest to achieve equity. Last week … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In part two of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker asks if ‘reducing inequality’ is aiming too low. Click here to read part one. The new … Read more
What lies beyond the new Labour government’s ‘first 100 days’ for health policy and outcomes for Māori? In a new series, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker asks Māori health professionals for their recommendations for a more equitable health system. It could just be me, but these first months of a … Read more
Most of my life growing up I was the clean cut Māori boy with the short and tidy haircut, but all of that changed nearly three years ago, writes Te Miri Rangi. This story was first published on 21 November 2017. Through my journey of understanding more about how my Māori worldview can shape my … Read more
December 22, the longest day, is here and Tamanuiterā, the sun, must start his long journey back to winter. When the star Rehua (Antares) rises above the horizon before dawn, we know that the days have become full and long. Together with the blooming pōhutukawa and the nesting kererū, our tūpuna recognised these signs as … Read more
Just as mamaku holds the earth together after landslides, so too can it heal wounds and infections in us, explains Donna Kerridge. Mamaku (Cyathea Medullaris), also known as kōrau, katātā and pītau, is one of my favourite rongoā. It is the largest of our tree ferns and prefers damp soils and frost free hillsides. At … Read more