From the Frontlines at Waahi Whaanui: Mental Health and Addiction Gaps
On the frontlines of whānau support, the cracks in the system are becoming impossible to ignore.
This week, our Whānau Voice team visited Waahi Whaanui in Raahui Pookeka-Huntly that was established in 1983 by the Tainui Maori Trust Board as one of its ten Marae Cluster Management Committees that works across a vast rohe — from Mercer in the north, to Raglan in the west, Te Hoe in the east, and Kirikiriroa in the south.
They deliver an impressive range of integrated services: Whānau Ora, parenting support, family violence response, social workers in schools, rangatahi transition services, alcohol and addiction support, and more. Deeply embedded in their hapori driven by a commitment to uplift whānau. But even with all their expertise, one reality stood out: they’re doing critical mahi with our people experiencing a health system under immense strain. The need is growing significantly, particularly for our rangatahi.
Mental Health: Access Denied by Distance and Delay
For Raahui Pookeka based whānau,often access mental health assessment is to travel half an hour to Hamilton. Once seen, they’re referred back to local services in Raahui Pookeka—services that are already under immense pressure.
The latest data from Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission backs this up:
- 16,000 fewer people were seen by specialist services in the year to June 2024, compared to 2021.
- More than 10,000 of them were under 25 years old.
- The drop isn’t because fewer people need help—it’s because they can’t get it.
This is a crisis. Not just of access, but of dignity.
Addiction Support Has a Waitlist—But Pain Doesn’t Wait
There’s a four-week wait to see an addiction counsellor at Waahi Whaanui. For some whānau, that’s a tipping point. There is limited alcohol and drug support for rangatahi under 18. We heard that many rangatahi are in crisis, with no place to turn.
Kaumātua Saving Up Their Pain
Kaumātua said they “save up” their health concerns because of cost and not wanting to be hōhā or overburden already stretched services.
It is not tika that they should feel like a burden. They carry our whakapapa, our mātauranga, our mauri. They should be cherished and prioritised.
The Numbers Are Stark—But Not New to Us
Māori in Waikato are:
- 9 times more likely than non-Māori to be hospitalised for any mental or substance use disorder
- 6 times more likely for schizophrenia
- 7 times more likely for substance and alcohol-related harm
- And an average of 225 Māori (mostly wāhine) are hospitalised for intentional self-harm each year
In Hamilton, over 2,000 Māori aren’t enrolled with a GP—shut out from the most basic preventative care.
Where to From Here?
What we saw was a failure of the health system to support providers like Waahi Whaanui who are under pressure, the increased caseload of kaimahi carrying too much without the resources they need, and whānau trying to hold on without falling through the cracks.
We stand alongside them—and we raise their voices.
Last week the Government announced a $28 million investment over four years in Budget 2025 to shift the response to 111 mental distress calls from Police to mental health professionals. For frontline providers like Waahi Whaanui it will take far more to address the deep gaps in accessibility, workforce, and culturally grounded care.
Te Tiratū is calling for:
Providers to be adequately resourced to cope with the increasing demand on services
- A focus on services for rangatahi under 18 that are locally relevant and accessible
- Appropriate whanau orientated triage processes
- Culturally grounded, local solutions led by whānau, hapū and iwi
Te Tiratū will continue to amplify your voice until the system listens.
From left to right: Rawinia Marsh – Integrated Services Manager Waahi Whaanui Trust, Fiona Helu and Hemi-Lee Morgan – Whānau Ora Team.
BUDGET 2025: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board: Uncompromising call to Govt on Budget 2025
The Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, the statutory voice for 114,000 whānau Māori across the central North Island, is issuing an uncompromising call to the Government: make Budget 2025 a decisive turning point so the health system is timely and accessible.
Maniapoto rising: “We know what works”
Our Whānau Voice kaimahi and Tumu Whakarae attended a recent hui held at Te Kūiti, hosted by Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust where a strong and heartfelt kōrero unfolded about the state of hauora for whānau across the Maniapoto rohe.
Frontline kaimahi, whānau navigators, and community leaders — including CEO Shirley Turner — came together to shine a light on what’s working, what whānau are asking for, and where the system is falling short.
“Our people know what works — we just need the system to back us,” Shirley said.
Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust offers a suite of integrated health and social services designed to walk alongside whānau, ensuring every door is the right door. These include:
- Kaiārahi Services – placing whānau at the centre, helping them define and lead their own goals across multiple service areas.
- Whānau Direct – offering fast, flexible support when whānau need it most.
- Disability support and mental health services, including social workers in schools.
- Tamariki Ora – a standout success story. The Tamariki Ora nurse and whānau navigator work together in the community, achieving strong immunisation rates despite not receiving equitable funding.
Photo from left to right: Te Tiratū Tumu Whakarae, Brandi Hudson with kaimahi of Maniapoto Marae Pact Trust – Sauaga Poliko, Lisa Kerekere, Rena Morgan, Honour Muraahi, Adrianna Astle and Raven Torea our Whānau Voice kaimahi
The Trust also contributes to Healthy Families Te Kūiti, with locals like Michelle Wi running weekly Māra Kai workshops on preserving, pickling, and food sovereignty — all part of a wider push for long-term wellbeing.
Shirley was clear about how the Trust works, “Whānau are in the driver’s seat — and that’s how it should be. Our services walk with them, not ahead of them.”
Systemic Challenges Undermining Equity
Despite these local strengths, systemic failures continue to undermine outcomes for Maniapoto whānau.
One striking example shared at the hui was of a kuia who was rushed by ambulance to Waikato Hospital with minimal belongings, only to be sent home later in a shuttle and left on the roadside.
It was only thanks to a member of the public contacting a local health worker that she made it home safely. This case highlights the urgent need for a more responsive, automatic travel support process — particularly around the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme.
“There needs to be a built-in, automatic system for whānau travel vouchers — not an afterthought.”
Other systemic concerns raised include:
- Falling through administrative cracks in post-hospital care and transport.
- No sustainable funding model for high-performing but underfunded services like Tamariki Ora.
- The need for better wellbeing measurement tools that reflect whānau realities.
- A desire for more regular, locally based specialist outreach, especially for kaumātua and kuia.
Networks and Ngā Kaupapa o te Rohe
The hui also acknowledged the strength of local collaborations — such as the Waitomo Community Health Forum and initiatives like Harvest to Home and Wai to Kai, which focus on food resilience, sovereignty, and wellbeing.
The message from Maniapoto is clear: local, kaupapa Māori solutions are working — but they need resourcing and system-level support.
“We’re seeing positive outcomes because our services reflect the lived reality of our whānau. But without equity in funding and process, our people continue to carry the cost,” said one kaimahi.
Uncompromising call to govt on Budget 2025
MEDIA STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
22 May 2025, 12:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
[Photo: Tipa Mahuta and Hagen Tautari, co-chairs of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board]
The Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, the statutory voice for 114,000 whānau Māori across the central North Island, is issuing an uncompromising call to the Government: make Budget 2025 a decisive turning point so the health system is timely and accessible for whānau.
The Board is calling for urgent action and bold direct investment in Māori-led, community-based health services — warning that failure to do so will mean continued whānau premature death from preventative disease, entrenched hardship and inequity across the rohe.
Board co-chair Hagen Tautari said, “We hear it from our people every day — the system is not meeting the needs of our whānau who top the table in terms of mortality and morbidity statistics.”
He acknowledged steady progress in key service areas — particularly newborn enrolment, early intervention, and screening coverage across the Tainui Waka rohe. However, he stressed that falling immunisation rates and long specialist wait times now demand urgent attention.
“Whānau are waiting months — even years — for essential care. Many needing to access services beyond a GP clinic are forced to travel vast distances, bear unaffordable costs, or give up altogether because the system isn’t designed for them — culturally, practically, or equitably. It’s not just unjust — it’s deadly. This failure is costing lives.”
Evidence from Whānau Voice surveys, the Board’s monitoring mechanism on Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand reveals that Māori communities across the Te Tiratū region — spanning from Waikato to Hauraki, from Te Kuiti to Kawhia and especially the surrounding rural settlements — continue to face persistent, systemic failures in accessing even basic health care.
“Since June 2023, I’ve been on a waitlist for gallbladder surgery. This one condition is stopping me from getting back to work,” said one Tokoroa-based whānau. “My partner needed someone to talk to. There was no mental health support for him. Nothing,” shared another. “As a teacher here in Tokoroa, I don’t think there’s enough on offer for our tamariki in terms of mental health.”
Tautari believes these stories are not isolated — they are representative of widespread experiences shared by whānau across the rohe that are leaving them frustrated, overlooked and unsure on where to get help.
Even the government’s recent pre-announcement of a funding boosts for 24-hour urgent care in selected locations, Ōpōtiki—part of the Te Manawa Taki region where Te Tiratū operates—was overlooked despite having a clear need and geographic isolation. As a result, the lack of accessible services continues to place whānau lives at risk.
The resounding call from the flaxroots is clear: more GPs, more specialists, shorter wait times, and longer appointments. “We need to be able to see a doctor the same day — not in two weeks. You could be dead by then,” said whānau from rural Waikato.
Te Manawa Taki Central North Island Region: Delays, Disconnection, Causing Disadvantage
Whānau in the Te Tiratū catchment compared to the general population continue to face higher rates of cancer, diabetes, mental health conditions, and preventable illnesses — with poorer outcomes and shorter life expectancies.
These outcomes are worsened by the current service delivery experience:
- Surgery and specialist waitlists stretching months to multiple years
- Lack of local mental health support especially for tāne and rangatahi
- Shortages of GPs and specialists in rural and coastal communities
- Disjointed services that are not designed to reflect Māori cultural values, realities, or aspirations
From rural towns like Putāruru and Mangakino to coastal Ōpōtiki, many whānau struggle to access timely, affordable, and culturally safe health care. Services are stretched, under-resourced, and often located far from where whānau live.
- Teachers in Tokoroa are concerned about the lack of mental health services for students even though suicide rates for rangatahi are among the highest globally, and tamariki are more likely to experience barriers to accessing mental health services.
- Te Whatu Ora data for the Te Tiratū region indicates more whānau are now waiting over 4 months for their first specialist appointment. Delays in accessing timely care especially for rural and remote areas is worsening the health conditions for whānau and eroding their trust in the system. As a result, many are disengaging entirely — avoiding the very services meant to support them.
- In the western Bay of Plenty, whānau report long waits for referrals and specialist treatment in Hamilton, often delayed by transport, time off work, or simply unaffordable travel.
“Referrals wait times are really long!” said whānau. “We need doctors full-time — the same doctor, not locums that come and go,” said another.
Many reported being bounced between services, without follow-up, clarity, or support. “We’re constantly referred elsewhere. No one checks in. The system is disconnected, and people as a result fall through the cracks.”
Decades of Underinvestment: Now a Measurable Impact
This crisis is not new. Back in 2019 the Waitangi Tribunal released its Hauora Report on WAI 2575 matters that was further supported by the historic Sapere Report that calculated a $531 million longstanding underfunding experienced by Māori providers which still has not been addressed and compounding – six years later.
While Te Tiratū waits for the official details of the Budget 2025 commitments— such as a proportion of the allocated $6.8 billion capital spend on health and what the $190 million Social Investment Fund entails— there is no assurance that these will reach Māori communities unless targeted, ringfenced, and co-designed.
Te Tiratū urges the Government to:
- Deliver dedicated investment into kaupapa Māori and whānau-centred health models
- Address workforce shortages in GPs, mental health specialists, and kaiārahi/navigators across the rohe
- Guarantee equitable access to timely mental health care care for tamariki, rangatahi and tāne
- Uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi in health system governance and decision-making
“What works for our whānau already exists. We just need the government to invest in it — as Māori-led care can deliver,” said Tipa Mahuta, co-chair of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board.
A local initiative already making a measurable difference is a community outreach pilot launched by BreastScreen Aotearoa, in partnership with Hauraki PHO, to connect under-screened wāhine through hospital and community pathways.
Equity Is Not a Luxury — It’s a Legal and Moral Obligation
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board believe whānau Māori across the Tainui waka rohe cannot afford more delays, trade-offs, or one-size-fits-all approaches.
“Equity is not optional — it is a Treaty commitment, and the path forward to sustainable wellbeing. Now is the time for genuine partnership — one that shares power, resources, and responsibility with Māori to achieve oranga for all.”
Rangitāmiro leads the way – First Commissioning Agency to complete Whānau Ora procurement process
PANUI FOR WHĀNAU ORA PROVIDERS
IN TĀMAKI MAKAURAU & TE TAI TOKERAU
21 May 2025, 6:00 PM
2 minutes to Read
Rangitāmiro is proud to announce that it has successfully completed its inaugural Whānau Ora procurement process and today formally notified successful providers across Region One. This is a significant milestone and reaffirms a commitment held by Rangitāmiro to honour the whakapapa of whānau ora through strengthening service networks, regional capability, reach and service coverage, ensuring and enabling whānau wellbeing.
A comprehensive and values-led procurement process that interim Rangitāmiro Chair, Dr Rachel Brown knows will shape the future of Whānau Ora delivery.
“We are honoured to be able to give providers and communities across Aotearoa confidence in the continuation of Whānau Ora services with minimal disruption, whilst ensuring growth in capacity means service reach and coverage will increase allowing more whānau to access the services they need.
Key achievements from this process include:
• Guaranteed continuity of services for whānau from 1 July 2025, with proactive steps to minimise transition disruption
• An increase in frontline Kaiwhiriwhiri Whānau FTE, supporting a stronger navigation workforce across all regions
• Expanded reach into isolated and rural communities, enabling better access to culturally anchored, whānau-centric support
• The onboarding of new providers, bringing fresh innovation, insight, and presence in areas where service gaps previously existed
Dr Brown acknowledges the tenacity of providers and whānau in the short timeframe.
“Today’s announcement signals the next chapter in our partnership with whānau and reinforces our long-term commitment to the transformation and future of Whānau Ora. Our kaupapa is grounded in empowering whānau, driving better outcomes, and expanding service reach to underserved and high-need communities.”
Rangitāmiro is a collaborative entity comprised of Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, the National Hauora Coalition, and Ngaa Pou Hauora oo Taamaki Makaurau Iwi Maaori Partnership Board.
National immunisation rates climb, but Māori communities still lag behind
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board member Dr Mataroria Lyndon MBCHB, MPH, PHD said national statistics, while encouraging, fail to reflect the challenges Māori continue to face.
“I want to whakanui and recognise that that’s important, that we are making progress,” he said. “But, we know that those national rates don’t reflect the realities for Māori and the inequities or the gaps around Māori immunisation rates, which are sitting at 62% in our rohe of Waikato-Tainui, and I know it’s similar for Te Tai Tokerau as well.”
Dr Lyndon is urging the health system to respond with equity at the centre — supporting Māori-led initiatives, breaking down access barriers, and building trust through culturally grounded communication.
Because protecting all tamariki means ensuring every child, in every community, has the same opportunity to be safe and well.
Protecting whakapapa: Māori clinician calls for lift to tamariki vaccination rates
Our Board member and clinician, Dr Mataroria Lyndon (MBChB, MPH, PhD), was interviewed by Waatea to share whakaaro about Māori immunisation rates being significantly lower than the national average (62% vs 80%), which poses risks for preventable disease outbreaks like Measles and child health, particularly in regions like Waikato and Te Tai Tokerau.
Measles is back in Aotearoa — Protect your whānau now
A confirmed case of measles has been reported in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). The person had recently returned from Asia on 29 April and became infectious on 2 May.
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board in the last 24 hours has received a further briefing from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand about the outbreak. You can check for update on locations of interest HERE.
Tainui Waka Rohe: Tamariki Immunisation Rates Are Low
In our rohe, only 62% of tamariki under 2 years old are immunised against measles — well below the national target of 95%. This makes our communities vulnerable to outbreaks and puts pēpi, kaumātua, and immune-compromised whānau at serious risk.
Protecting Our Whakapapa: Immunise Against Measles
Measles is a serious, fast-spreading illness that can affect both tamariki and pakeke.
Why Immunisation Matters
- Measles spreads quickly and can be dangerous — especially for Tamariki under five.
- Adults can catch measles too, and risk passing it to mokopuna who are too young to be vaccinated.
- The MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) vaccine is safe, effective, and has been used in Aotearoa since 1990.
- Two doses after the age of 12 months protect 99% of people from measles.
What You Can Do – Right Now
- Check if your tamariki or rangatahi have had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine.
- If you’re unsure whether you’re protected, especially if born after 1 January 1969 — get vaccinated.
- Encourage kōrero within your whānau and hapū about immunisation – sharing trusted info saves lives.
Free. Safe. Effective.
The MMR vaccine is free for all under 18s, and for adults eligible for funded healthcare.
It has an excellent safety record and does not contain any pork (porcine) products.
He Pēpi? He Māmā Hapu?
Pregnant wāhine can’t receive the MMR vaccine — so it’s important to make sure everyone around them is protected.
Measles during pregnancy can cause miscarriage and premature birth.
Who Can Get Vaccinated – and When?
Tamariki:
- 1st dose at 12 months
- 2nd dose at 15 months
- Missed a dose? Catch-up vaccinations are FREE
Pakeke (Adults):
- If you’re not sure you’re protected and were born after 1 Jan 1969, get vaccinated – it’s safe to have extra doses.
- If you’re pregnant, you cannot get the MMR vaccine — but it’s safe to get it after baby is born and while breastfeeding.
Overseas-born whānau:
- Had your vaccinations overseas? Check your records with a doctor.
- No records? Still get vaccinated — it’s safe.
- Some countries vaccinate babies before 12 months – they may need extra doses here in Aotearoa.
It doesn’t matter what your immigration status is — the MMR vaccine is FREE for all under 18
- Over 18? The vaccine is still free if you’re eligible for funded healthcare.
He Pātai?
- Talk to your doctor, nurse, or health provider
- Call Healthline – 0800 611 116
- Visit: info.health.nz/measles
- Learn more at: immunise.health.nz
Tō tātou haumarutanga kei a tātou — Our collective protection starts with each of us.
Calls for urgent action on dental equity
Coverage by The Waikato Local newspaper on the current situation in Taumaranui. Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) listening to whānau has identified stark gaps in health access across the region—particularly in the areas of dental care.
Data showing alarmingly low immunisation rates, delays, costs still undermining Māori Health
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board April Whānau Voice Report mirrored by Te Whatu Ora data has evidenced immunisation rates 33% lower than the national average, widespread inequities, long wait times, and unaffordable care still plaguing whānau Māori in its Tainui waka rohe.