Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are investigating after a woman was found with serious injuries in Christchurch on Thursday night.

Detective Sergeant Ben Rolton, Christchurch Metro CIB said officers were called to Worcester Street, between Latimer Square and Barbadoes Street, around 10pm.

There were reports that a person had been stabbed.

The woman was taken to Christchurch Hospital by ambulance where she underwent surgery.

A scene guard was put in place overnight, and a scene examination is taking place today.

Police are making enquiries into the circumstances of the incident and working to identify who is responsible, Detective Sergeant Rolton said.

St John Ambulance told RNZ two people were taken to hospital.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Finland has once again been named the happiest country in the world, a title it has now held a record nine times.

New Zealand often ranks in the top 10, but it has just dipped outside to 11th in the most recent World Happiness Report. It’s the third year in a row New Zealand has ranked outside the top 10.

It’s mostly Nordic countries ahead of New Zealand, but Israel is in 8th. Our friends across the ditch, Australia, were ranked 15th.

Finnish philosopher Frank Martela, the go-to expert on Nordic happiness, told First Up that Finnish people were relatively sceptical of the results.

“I guess the Finnish people think of themselves as this slightly introverted, even melancholic, bunch of people. So, being the happiest people in the world doesn’t really fit into Finnish self-image,” he said.

Martela said rather than Finnish people being happier, there are fewer extremely unhappy people in Finland, which drives up the average.

“When you say that Finland is the happiest country, it’s one way of putting it, [but] another way of putting it would be saying Finland is the country where there are the least amount of people who are actively unhappy about their lives – that would be, in a way, a more accurate description.”

In other words, if New Zealand wants to boost its ranking, Kiwis should complain less.

“That’s the Finnish way of doing this – not complaining too much, just minding one’s own business and being happy about it,” Martela said.

To determine the ranking, the Gallup World Poll asks respondents in 147 countries to evaluate their lives using the image of a ladder, with the best possible life as a 10 and the worst possible as a 0. Each respondent provides a numerical response on this scale, referred to as the Cantril Ladder.

Researchers look at six factors, including GDP per capita, life expectancy, generosity and perceptions of freedom and corruption to help account for variations among countries. The rankings are based on a three-year average, which smoothes out spikes and dips occasioned by big events such as war or financial downturns.

The Finns reported an average score of 7.764 to evaluate their life satisfaction.

Martela said universal healthcare, low corruption, high-quality free education, unemployment benefits and good maternity leave are some of the factors behind the score.

Finland’s deep commitment to cooperation helps explain its staying power at the top of the ranking, John F. Helliwell, professor emeritus of economics at the University of British Columbia and a founding editor of the World Happiness Report, said in an interview.

“Successful societies cooperate in the face of adversity,” he said. “The Finns know this. And once you have the sense that you are in this together, there’s no end to what you can do.”

Youth crisis

The report’s writers have begun to pay attention to what they consider a crisis in youth happiness, first mentioned in the 2024 ranking.

In the latest edition, the survey found life evaluations among respondents under age 25 in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have dropped by almost one full point on the scale of 0 to 10 over the last decade, a dramatic slide especially since the average satisfaction for young people in the rest of the world has increased, according to Gallup World Poll data.

A key factor in the sharp drop in youth happiness, researchers said, is the number of hours young people spend consuming social media or gaming. And while experts say it’s important to limit time spent with the Internet overall, some ways of spending time online are healthier than others, including communicating with loved ones, and learning new skills.

A certain amount of Internet and social media consumption wasn’t necessarily negative, he said, saying, “There seems to be a sweet spot.”

“You don’t want to be unconnected but you don’t want to be too connected,” he said. “With the Internet, too much is a bad thing.”

The world’s top happiest countries in 2026

1. Finland

2. Iceland

3. Denmark

4. Costa Rica

5. Sweden

6. Norway

7. Netherlands

8. Israel

9. Luxembourg

10. Switzerland

11. New Zealand

You can read the report here.

– RNZ with additional reporting by CNN

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An investigation is underway into the death of an inmate at Christchurch Men’s Prison.

Corrections says staff and paramedics tried to revive the man, who died in the health unit early on Thursday morning.

Other inmates and staff are being provided support.

Corrections says all deaths in prison are subject to an internal incident review, an investigation by the independent Corrections Inspectorate and are also referred to the coroner.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService says low cloud disrupting flights in the capital is already starting to lift.

Wellington airport said 12 flights had been cancelled and a further 10 delayed on Friday morning.

An airport spokesperson said the weather was expected to improve.

“We advise passengers to check directly with their airlines for details on their flights.”

MetService meteorologist Michael Pawley said the fog hanging about was already beginning to shift.

“We’re not expecting it to stick around for much longer.”

The airport’s online departure board showed some Sounds Air and Air New Zealand flights had either been cancelled or delayed indefinitely since 6.45am on Friday.

Sounds Air owner Andrew Crawford said planes can’t land in the fog, so they’d be waiting for it to clear.

The fog hasn’t affected Jetstar flights. Air New Zealand has been approached for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Queenstown’s mayor says pumping treated wastewater into the “pristine” Kawarau River is the council’s only realistic option.

Queenstown Lakes District councillors agreed on Thursday to lodge a 35-year resource consent application for discharge from the Shotover Wastewater Treatment Plant, while staff keep looking for alternative solutions to the region’s wastewater woes.

It comes after emergency discharges from the treatment plant to the Shotover River.

The discharges sparked community backlash and ultimately saw the Environment Court order the council to come up with a long-term solution by the end of May.

The mayor John Glover told Morning Report it was a difficult decision that would see treated wastewater pumped into the Kawarau rather than the Shotover River.

“I don’t think anybody recognises that what we’re moving forward with is what we want to do. I mean, it’s the case of there are no – at the moment – no realistic other options.”

Under the $77.5 million plan – recommended by staff and supported by most councillors – advanced filters would be installed at the treatment plant, and a 1.4km pipeline built to carry the treated wastewater to a rock outfall structure on the Kawarau River.

The decided-upon plan was strongly opposed by Ngāi Tahu, with iwi representatives stating the direct discharge of human waste to nature water was “abhorrent”.

Glover said council staff were also directed to investigate land-based solutions as most people understood – particularly Wellingtonians after the catastrophic failure at Moa Point – that discharging to waterways carried risk.

“So in the long-term, if we’re able to discharge to land, that’s obviously going to be the preferred solution. It certainly aligns with the preferred option for mana whenua.

“In a district where land is very expensive … it’s a challenge. But I think we owe it to future generations to do more and look at other options.”

He conceded that such a solution wouldn’t happen time soon.

In response to criticism that the council had failed over successive years to address wastewater issues, Glover said the current situation was the culmination of investment decisions, management of plants, and unknown technology.

“What has happened has happened. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that around New Zealand and elsewhere in the world, the primary route to deal with our discharge, with our treated wastewater is to pump it into the sea or pump it into a river.”

He said the environmental impacts would be assessed through the consent process.

“Because of the pristine environment of the river that the council are looking to discharge into there will be a consenting process, those environmental impacts will be tested.”

He said the Local Government Act means the impact on local mana whenua would also be taken into account.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

With the cost of fuel and other essentials rising due to the conflict in the Middle East, the government is looking at ways to ease the cost pressure for those feeling it the most.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis told Morning Report the price increases are extremely tough and affecting all New Zealanders, but said some are feeling it more than others.

“I can’t solve the pain for everyone. The cost of doing that would potentially involve levels of spending that would drive inflation higher, and certainly would put us in a more fragile position in terms of debt.

“So what we are looking at, is there something very targeted and temporary that we could do to assist those workers in particular who are most acutely impacted by these household budget squeezes?”

Willis said she doesn’t want to see a situation where people can’t drive to work, and has instructed the IRD and Treasury to come up with a package that could be implemented with urgency ahead of the Budget, but Cabinet will ultimately decide on timing.

Willis wouldn’t say what the income thresholds would be, but said the package would take into account household income and number of children.

“We’re also looking at forecasts at the moment and putting together a budget, all of which involves questions that we have to address on the way through. But I do want to stick to our fiscal strategy,” Willis said.

Fuel supply disruption

Willis also discussed rising fuel prices, and said the message remains the same, “this is not the time to panic, we’ve got plenty of fuel in the country and on its way.”

On Thursday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon acknowledged a “big shift” in the government’s messaging around the war in the Middle East, warning New Zealanders the fuel situation could get worse before it gets better.

Willis said the government was preparing for scenarios where supply from Singapore and South Korea, where New Zealand gets petrol, diesel, jet fuel from, could be disrupted.

“We know that they are having challenges getting crude oil out of the Middle East and so are either reducing the amount of products they’re refining or, in South Korea’s case, looking to prioritise domestic customers.

“So what we’re anticipating is there could be a point down the line where that makes it harder for our fuel importers to get the refined products they need out of Asia.”

Willis also defended the government’s LNG plans, despite the attacks on Iran’s South Pars gas field and [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/590133/oil-prices-surge-stocks-sink-on-energy-shock-fears Qatar’s Ras Laffan.

Willis said the focus was still for New Zealand’s energy to be “largely renewable”, but having LNG as a back up remained the government’s strategy.

Not our conflict

Willis said the fighting in the Middle East was “not our conflict”, and reiterated calls for a humanitarian end.

“What we want to see is that the rules of international engagement are upheld, which involves not targeting civilians and protecting human life.

“We are not involved, we haven’t been asked for authorisation, we haven’t been asked for support, we haven’t been asked for assistance.

“Our opinion has not been relevant to the events that are unfolding in that region of the world.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Higher fuel costs mean higher transport costs, and that means higher prices across the board – and that’s a hard pill to swallow for Kiwis three years into a cost-of-living crisis.

Kiwis are already feeling the expensive ripple effects of the war in Iran – and economists are warning that the real impact is only just beginning.

What started as a distant geopolitical conflict has quickly landed squarely on our country’s economy, driving up fuel costs, squeezing household budgets, and threatening to slow growth.

If it continues, New Zealand could be staring down the barrel of another recession.

“So this sort of shock, if it gets worse, will definitely increase the risk of a recession here,” Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr tells The Detail.

“And we have only just gotten out of recession, so to fall back in would be horrendous for households and businesses.”

At the centre of the crisis is oil.

Global prices have surged past US$100 a barrel as fighting disrupts supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint for about 20 percent of the world’s oil.

And for New Zealand, which imports almost all of its fuel, the effect has been immediate.

Petrol prices are already climbing rapidly, with forecasts that they could push toward $4 a litre – or higher – if the conflict escalates.

And when fuel costs rise, everything that relies on transport follows – from groceries to clothing to construction materials.

“The direct impact that we are seeing right now is the rise in petrol prices, and that affects, I would say, every household, particularly those on lower incomes who are forced to drive to work,” Kerr says.

“It is just another cost that they have to wear. And they have been in a cost-of-living crisis for the past three years.”

He warns that the conflict could push inflation higher while slowing growth, with Kiwi households already tightening spending, cutting discretionary purchases, and reducing travel and fuel use. Delaying big buys and trading down to cheaper brands are likely on the horizon.

“Yes, we are going to see a spike in inflation, but what I don’t agree with is the commentary that that automatically leads to a rate hike. I disagree.

“That is only going to put greater pressure on a household that is already under pressure. That would be the exact thing not to do … for me, the bigger risk is that households get hurt, the economy doesn’t recover, and the central bank may be needed to come in and provide support.”

He said economists entered the year “quite optimistic, because we had been banging the table for a long time, because the Reserve Bank had not cut interest rates to a level that was actually stimulatory and helpful for the recovery.

“They finally got there in November last year, took them far too long to get there, but they got there. We came into this year saying, ‘this is it, we are going to recover, the settings are about right, let’s go, c’mon let’s get some growth happening’, and mid-way through that sentence, we were cut off with missile strikes in Iran.

“It’s just another international shock that we have to deal with, and it’s just another headwind that all households and businesses have to face into.

“It’s hard for households to pay the food bill and power bill, which is up 35 percent on the year, petrol prices, which will be up a similar sort of amount, it is very, very difficult.

“We need to see policymakers stepping in to help, not hinder. So calls for rate hikes from the RBNZ [Reserve Bank] are tone deaf.”

On this episode, The Detail also speaks to Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young, who says retailers and consumers throughout the country are feeling the fallout of the war.

She says prices for goods and services will increase and “we will see that relatively soon”.

“We are seeing increases in insurance … increases in the fuel to get the ships to New Zealand,” she says. “Those additional costs are being passed on to the retailers and, at some point, those costs will be passed on to consumers.”

She says, right now, it’s “a really uncertain time for everyone”.

“Ultimately, uncertainty is not good for business. And I think that’s the thing we have to remember, and right now everyone is in a state of flux and uncertainty.

“And for any business owner, whether you are a retailer or other business, it’s going to have an impact on your sense of how you are going to move forward, and therefore it will have an impact on your profitability and ability to spend money in other areas.”

She fears some businesses might not survive the war.

“It will be difficult for people, and we will see some people who are perhaps a bit more pessimistic about what the future holds and may decide to close the store, and there will be others who will try to hang in there.”

She says recovery will depend on how long the conflict lasts.

Economists say a short conflict will see a sharp but temporary spike in prices, while a prolonged war will mean sustained inflation, weaker growth, and reduced spending.

And an escalation? Enter the risk of recession.

For now, the message from economists is simple: New Zealand may be far from the conflict, but it is not insulated from its consequences, because a war a world away involving oil doesn’t stay overseas for long.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

China is warning that alliances will likely escalate rather than de-escalate tensions and “spread rather than limit the conflicts”.

The warning delivered by its ambassador in a hardhitting speech on geopolitics in Wellington on Thursday came as New Zealand was getting closer to Australia and Australia was getting closer to the United States on defence.

The speech closely followed China accusing the trans-Tasman allies of “arrogance” in a clash over military manouevres.

That in turn came on the heels of the allies releasing a new ‘Operationalising our Alliance’ joint statement aimed at “being able to operate seamlessly as an increasingly integrated, combat capable Anzac force by 2035”.

Canberra for its part under a separate alliance was “committed to deepening cooperation through accelerating and expanding joint defence initiatives, shared investments in new capabilities and industrial base integration” with the US.

This all came a few weeks after US President Donald Trump announced a big shift in how his administration would sell weapons.

Gone was what his directive called the “partner-first arms sales approach”, newly arriving was an “America First” arms export strategy, where allies would be encouraged to buy US-made weapons as an explicit powerful foreign policy tool that prioritised partners “that have invested in their own self-defense and have a critical role or geography for executing the National Security Strategy”.

‘I haven’t seen New Zealand miss out’

Would the new ‘America First’ priority partner list impact New Zealand? It had favoured status in Anzac, ANZUS and Five Eyes, but is not part of AUKUS.

RNZ put that question to L3 Harris, a top 10 US defence contractor that just did a billion-plus-dollar partnership to add missile rocket motors to the US “arsenal of freedom”; signed a defence collaboration deal with Saudi Arabia last month; and supplied advanced comms gear to the NZ navy and army.

“In my career, I haven’t seen New Zealand miss out because they weren’t perfectly aligned with the way that the administrations have played,” said Alan Clements, L3 Harris vice president for Australia and New Zealand.

“Never once have I heard, either when I was in the military or outside the military, that New Zealand was to be excluded from anything.

“Yes, there’s policies … but there are also carve-outs for that, there are waivers.

“From our company perspective, nothing that’s been said inside those policy settings has stopped us being able to work with New Zealand and deliver capability with New Zealand.”

The country was not part of AUKUS Pillar Two – a military tech sharing arrangement for Australia, the US and UK – but was not missing out, Clements said. “New Zealand wouldn’t miss out because New Zealand being part of the Five Eyes [intelligence grouping] would be able to get access to that as we go.”

Share and share alike

In Australia, defence media reports had foreseen “major implications” from Trump’s America First arms move.

It beholdened the Pentagon to put a MAGA lens over the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme, which was the place where New Zealand went arms shopping. The government began talks under the FMS last August to buy $2 billion of naval Seahawk helicopters.

The Seahawk deal showed how the closer the three militaries got, the closer they were likely to get. “The Seahawk helicopter, operated by Australia and the United States, is the preferred helicopter,” an aide memoire to Cabinet last year.

“The ability to leverage American and Australian supply chains and through-life support arrangements … makes this the most cost-effective and durable helicopter. It means Defence does not need to fund the integration and certification of essential military equipment and systems” – plus aircrew would be interchangeable.

Clements said the defence industries on either side of the Tasman had to align to rein in costs by preventing double up.

“We are now seeing more and more that we’re working closer together, particularly when it comes to capability alignment.”

L3 Harris had seven people working in New Zealand, compared with over 500 across the Tasman.

“But we work with other New Zealand companies and they do the work either as a subcontractor or sometimes as a prime for us where we try to build that capacity and capability within New Zealand itself, rather than import.”

‘Entanglements’

In the higher, weightier world of geopolitical alliances, who was in control?

China’s ambassador Wang Xiaolong warned on Thursday that alliances were “entanglements” where everyone would end up less secure.

“The next non-solution I want to debunk is military alliances, which we believe is, often a de-stabiliser rather than a stabiliser for the world.

“These alliances, by definition and by design, are meant to win wars rather than to keep the peace,” he told the Wellington Club.

Defence Minister Judith Collins, asked by RNZ on Thursday where the line was within increased integration, given Australia’s different positions, say, on nukes or the Iran war, said those were foreign policy differences, not defence.

“There’s no risk to our independence,” said Collins.

The existing “enormous” defence integration with Australia went both ways.

“The biggest risk to our independence is to not be closely connected to Australia,” she said.

The 2035 joint statement mentioned “sovereignty” six times.

‘Rocket diplomacy’

The statement also made clear the Anzacs would be using the same weapons more and more; by 2035 the two would “deploy increasingly integrated and interchangeable units”.

Australia and the US would be, too. Canberra recently signed on to spend over $20 billion with the Pentagon and contractor Lockheed to co-produce guided weapons – what Politico called “rocket diplomacy”.

The track to human-machine integation was also becoming well beaten. The US Army planned to deploy its first Human Machine Integrated Formation (HMIF) platoons by 2027, while the NZDF in its new long-term insights briefing made “human-machine teaming” one of four themes.

It was not just about sharing weapons at the pointy end either, but also the data-crunching AI systems behind them that the NZDF told MPs last week would become the number one force multiplier.

AI allowed command-and-control to be integated like never before on the battlefield. The NZDF was experimenting with this in US-led multinational exercises.

Clements said New Zealand’s stance and defence capability plan meant the country would probably want to head down the path of aligning command and control with their allies and partners, in particular Australia.

“That alignment with command and control is important for both countries.

“Australia has gone down a particular path with its command and control, and it aligns and the services have aligned slightly with the way the US do things.

“Those systems that are actually currently being used are not L3 Harris systems at the moment. But if there was an opportunity where they were looking at doing something new, then absolutely.”

Lower level control of, say, a drone could be programmed to “put constraints around what it goes to do, where it looks, [where] the information goes.

“So you can absolutely put constraints around that,” said Clements. Once the data went up to a higher level, that would be a different system.

So, L3 Harris’s product Amorphous that controlled of swams of land, sea and air drones all at once, could be controlled at the frontline, and a separate system sit behind it where the bigger targeting decisions were made.

Lethality on order?

One shift by Collins had been to order Defence to become more lethal.

Defence has been holding ‘early-days’ workshops with contractors to get ideas about drones and the like.

Was the NZDF asking for more lethal and autonomous weapons now?

“I’m not aware of them asking for that from us directly at the moment,” said Clements.

“But yes, as a defence organisation, we will develop capability using all the tools that we currently have to meet the requirements of the lethality requirements of the Defence Force.

“But often we’re not in there trying to beat a door down and say, ‘You need to buy this piece of kit’.

“It’s looking at what they’re doing from a full structure and then having a conversation about, ‘Do you think this would help you in what you do?'”

While Clements has stressed how “autonomy, AI-enabled sensing and unmanned systems” were transforming military capabilities, he told RNZ that autonomy was not a prerequisite for the huge gains in precision and humans could be first in the loop – “at the beginning to hit the button”.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Nearly half of adults in Aotearoa are avoiding dental care because they cannot afford it, leaving many in chronic pain, at risk of serious infection, or in need of hospital treatment.

New research and frontline experiences are painting what advocates describe as a system failing to meet basic health needs, with growing calls for dental care to be fully integrated into the public health system.

Dental for All, a coalition of health workers, unions, community organisations and advocates travelled the country last year speaking directly with whānau about their experiences.

Dental for All campaigner Max Harris said the stories they heard were confronting.

“We heard about the shame and pain people face when they can’t get to the dentist, and how problems get worse over time,” he told RNZ.

“We also heard about the home remedies people resort to, things like using pliers or fishing wire to pull teeth, or relying on painkillers just to get through.”

A system built without teeth

According to the latest Ministry of Health survey, 47 percent of adult New Zealanders reported not visiting a dentist due to cost, with even higher rates among Māori and Pasifika.

Research commissioned by Dental for All also estimated untreated oral disease was costing the country around $2.5 billion each year in lost productivity and $3.1b in reduced quality of life.

“That is people missing work, missing job interviews, or living with constant pain and stigma,” Harris said.

“When you compare that with estimates that universal dental care could cost between $1 and $2 billion a year, it starts to make economic sense as well as human sense.”

According to a Talbot Mills poll in 2023, 74 percent of New Zealanders agreed that adult dental care should be funded in the same way it is funded for tamariki. So why wasn’t it?

Harris said that gap dated back to the system’s foundations.

“When the public healthcare system was set up in 1938, some dentists lobbied to carve teeth out of the system and it has essentially stayed that way ever since.”

Across the country, demand for affordable dental care continues to grow.

At teaching clinics run by the University of Otago Faculty of Dentistry, patients could receive reduced cost treatment from senior dental students under supervision.

In Auckland, the waitlist for student led care sat at around 950 people and was currently closed due to capacity.

Across both Auckland and Dunedin clinics, more than 14,800 patients were treated in 2025, delivering nearly 60,000 appointments.

Director of Dental Hospital and Clinics Janine Cochrane said demand had remained strong in recent years, reflecting wider national trends.

But even with those services, need continued to outstrip supply.

In July last year, Auckland City Mission opened a free dental clinic aimed at people who had struggled to access care.

In its first seven months, the clinic treated around 380 people and built a waitlist of more than 100.

Director of housing and health Brendan Short told RNZ that many patients had gone years without treatment.

“The people that we support have been marginalised from mainstream and public health care for a very long time,” he said.

“It is really clear that there is not enough funding for oral care in New Zealand for the general population. Dental care is essential healthcare and it seems that this is a blind spot for us as a nation.”

Living with pain

Short said the impact of untreated dental issues went far beyond physical pain.

“Avoiding social situations, hiding one’s smile, or even missing job opportunities are everyday realities,” he said.

He said many people had normalised living with pain.

“It is quite common for people to live with pain, to think that what they are putting up with is normal or is okay, and it is not.”

The Auckland City Mission dental clinic operated three days a week and relied heavily on volunteer dentists.

“This is not possible or achievable for us without those volunteer dentists. They are superstars,” Short said, adding that some even travelled from outside Auckland, including as far as Taranaki.

Volunteer dentist Roger Tiang told RNZ that demand was constant at the clinic, highlighting the need for these spaces.

“Every time I come in my shift is fully booked,” he said.

Tiang said cost and sometimes discomfort with mainstream services were key barriers and that delaying care allowed small issues to escalate.

“If we do not catch things early, problems get bigger and we end up dealing with much bigger issues than we would have if we had seen them earlier.”

After more than 25 years in dentistry, he believed oral healthcare should be treated like any other part of the health system.

“People might not realise it, but if you cannot chew your food properly or you are living with infections in your mouth, that can affect your overall health.

“It is part of your health. Just like the rest of the health system in New Zealand, there is public healthcare and dentistry should be part of that as well.”

Longstanding inequities for Māori

For Māori, barriers to dental care were often compounded by cost, distance, and access, layered on top of longstanding inequities within the health system.

ActionStation and Dental for All advocate Jasmine Taankink said poor oral health outcomes for Māori could not be separated from colonisation.

“We know that upon arrival to Aotearoa, English settlers were really impressed with the overall physical health of our tūpuna Māori, especially their oral health. That’s quite widely documented,” she said.

“Our tūpuna Māori didn’t have cavities, they didn’t have massive oral health problems. So poor oral health is just another negative implication of colonisation and us not being able to exercise our tino rangatiratanga”

She said solutions must be grounded in Māori led approaches.

“We have the expertise within our own communities to develop solutions that work for us.”

Leeann Waaka, dental therapist at Hauora a Toi and Tumuaki of Te ao Mārama (New Zealand Māori Dental Association) said the situation had remained largely unchanged for decades – with many left suffering in silence.

“The current suffering for our people is real, and it has not got any better since, well, what, 30 years?”

Waaka said while cost was a major issue for whānau, accessibility, especially in rural areas, remained a problem.

“When you are looking at a current structure and your lens is a holistic lens, it really does not fit.

“Whenever you need something, you should be able to access it, right there and then. Unfortunately that is not the case for dental.”

After travelling the country with the Dental for All kaupapa, she said the stories shared were confronting.

“Many have suffered in silence for a long time, It’s heartbreaking.

“I come from up north. I knew it was bad up there, but when we went up there for the roadshow, I don’t even think we could have imagined just how bad it is … It is inhumane.”

Waaka, alongside Dental for All and Te Ao Mārama, was pushing for a Te Tiriti consistent system – which would mean properly resourcing Māori providers and enabling iwi and hapū to design services that meet the needs of their people.

“It is reimagining the system and starting to rebuild it to what it needs to be to serve our whānau. Our people deserve better.”

Looking overseas for solutions

Dental for All’s latest research pointed to countries including Niue, Japan, Brazil, Canada and the United Kingdom, where dental care was integrated into public health systems.

Harris said those models showed change was achievable.

“It ultimately comes down to political will,” he said.

“We have seen other countries make the decision that oral health is part of overall health and design their systems accordingly.”

Dental for All was now developing a detailed policy proposal outlining how such a system could be introduced in Aotearoa.

“This could be something we look back on as a once in a generation change to strengthen our healthcare system.”

Waaka said the focus must remain on equity and wellbeing.

“All knowledge systems matter, and coming together to bring the best of those knowledge systems is key for when we are serving our people,” she said.

“Our people deserve the best and nothing less.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand