There is something deeply troubling about the way rongoā Māori has suddenly found itself in the crosshairs of talkback radio.
Not because scrutiny of public spending is wrong. It isn’t. Not because Corrections should escape questions about what programmes it funds. It shouldn’t.
The problem is how we got here.
Because this supposed revelation about rongoā Māori being introduced into prisons wasn’t much of a revelation at all.
The New Zealand Herald reported in March that the Department of Corrections was working towards having rongoā Māori services available in 14 prisons.
It was there. In public. Months ago.
Corrections even explained the thinking behind it, saying supporting the physical and mental health of people in prison could be an important first step towards getting them well enough to participate in rehabilitation programmes addressing offending and addiction.
So what changed between March and August?
Apparently, somebody discovered there was outrage to be manufactured.
Enter Newstalk ZB.
Mike Hosking raised the issue during his regular interview with Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, who indicated he had not been aware of the programme.
And from there, away we went.
Suddenly rongoā Māori wasn’t a Corrections initiative that had already been publicly reported. It became controversy.
Then came more commentary, more interviews and more politicians willing to have their say.
Kerry Woodham joined the discussion, and what followed felt increasingly like a conga line of voices from the political right being invited to kick the same kaupapa until somebody yelled bingo.
And once again, Māori became the story.
Not whether rehabilitation works.
Not what reduces reoffending.
Not whether prisoners receiving culturally appropriate health support are more likely to engage successfully with rehabilitation.
Not even whether the programme represents value for money.
Instead, rongoā itself became something to be suspicious of.
That distinction matters.
RONGOĀ ISN’T JUST MASSAGE
As Te Ao Māori News has subsequently reported, practitioners are now defending rongoā Māori from simplistic characterisations that reduce an entire mātauranga and healing practice to massage.
Rongoā Māori is bigger than mirimiri.
It encompasses mātauranga passed through generations and can include rākau rongoā, mirimiri, karakia, wairuatanga and approaches to wellbeing grounded in relationships between tinana, hinengaro, wairua, whānau and whenua.
People are entitled to debate whether particular services belong inside prisons.
But at least debate what the service actually is.
When Māori concepts are stripped of their context, translated into the most simplistic English description possible and then thrown into the talkback arena, the result isn’t necessarily greater understanding.
It can simply create better ammunition.
And this time there have been real consequences.
The planned rollout has been halted while practitioners are left explaining that their kaupapa isn’t what parts of the media conversation have made it out to be.
THE OUTRAGE MACHINE
There is a broader issue here about Newstalk ZB and the increasingly blurred boundary between news, commentary and political entertainment.
Talkback is entitled to have opinions.
Mike Hosking is entitled to have opinions.
Kerry Woodham is entitled to have opinions.
Their listeners are entitled to agree with them.
But a network carrying the credibility associated with a major news organisation also has a responsibility to distinguish between uncovering something genuinely hidden and taking something already publicly disclosed, attaching outrage to it and turning it into today’s scandal.
Because otherwise journalism starts looking suspiciously like an algorithm.
Find something Māori.
Remove the context.
Find an angry angle.
Bring in commentators who will reinforce it.
Generate reaction.
Repeat.
It becomes Whack-a-Māori Day.
And Māori know this game because we’ve watched versions of it for decades.
Māori health.
Māori wards.
Te reo Māori.
Co-governance.
The Treaty.
Māori names for government agencies.
Karakia.
Mātauranga Māori.
Now rongoā Māori in prisons.
Different kaupapa. Remarkably familiar outrage.
THERE WAS A REAL STORY HERE
The irony is that there are legitimate questions journalists could ask.
How much does the rongoā programme cost?
How were practitioners selected?
What clinical or cultural safeguards exist?
How will Corrections measure outcomes?
Will participation be voluntary?
Does rongoā improve prisoner wellbeing or participation in rehabilitation?
Does it contribute to reducing reoffending?
Those are fair questions.
In fact, they’re important questions.
But they require journalism rather than outrage.
They require reporters to understand the kaupapa before passing judgement on it.
And perhaps most importantly, they require Māori practitioners and experts to be central to a discussion about Māori health practice rather than appearing afterwards to clean up misconceptions.
MĀORI SHOULD TAKE NOTICE
There is another lesson here for Māori leaders, organisations and commentators.
Think carefully about which media platforms you legitimise with your presence.
If a network repeatedly turns kaupapa Māori into outrage content, Māori politicians, academics, iwi leaders and community figures should ask themselves why they continue helping feed the machine.
Access works both ways.
Media organisations need guests.
They need expertise.
They need credibility.
They need people willing to pick up the phone.
There is no obligation for Māori to participate in conversations where the kaupapa has already been framed in a way designed to make Māori defend their very existence.
Sometimes the most powerful interview is the one you decline.
ASK THE QUESTION THAT ACTUALLY MATTERS
These are prisons.
The people inside them will eventually return to communities.
Many will return to Māori communities.
If something helps improve their physical health, mental wellbeing, cultural connection and readiness to undertake rehabilitation, surely the sensible response is to examine whether it works.
If it doesn’t work, stop funding it.
If it does work, why wouldn’t we use it?
That should be the debate.
Instead, we have managed to turn an already publicly reported Corrections programme into another front in the endless culture war over anything carrying the word Māori.
Rongoā Māori deserves scrutiny.
Corrections deserves scrutiny.
Government spending deserves scrutiny.
But Māori shouldn’t have to endure ritual humiliation every time somebody in a newsroom discovers that outrage generates clicks.
That’s not holding power to account.
That’s just good old-fashioned Māori bashing dressed up as breaking news.
And by now, we should all be able to tell the difference.
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