University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke researchers believe the Government is breaching the rights of imprisoned and recently released Māori.
They completed two studies. The first found primary care services are not meeting the high health needs of Māori just released from prison, and cost is a barrier to access.
Associate Professor Paula King
The second, found Māori were undercounted by six per cent in prisons, impacting resource allocation and policy decisions.
Lead author of both, Research Associate Professor Paula King, of the Department of Public Health, Wellington, says Māori have been imprisoned on a mass scale, driven by racialised inequities in the criminal legal system.
She argues it is essential the impact imprisonment has on their health and wellbeing, along with that of their whānau and communities, is addressed.
"What we expect is state accountability for state harms.
"Mass imprisonment of Māori and the consequent individual, collective, inter-generational, and societal harms represent an urgent area of health and justice need in Aotearoa.
"The prison state does not comprehensively monitor the health and wellbeing of Māori in its prisons, resulting in a lack of meaningful information."
Prisons are increasingly being recognised as a powerful determinant of health and wellbeing with age at first imprisonment found to be an important predictor of adverse health outcomes.
Community re-entry from prison presents multiple challenges in accessing healthcare.
The researchers analysed the health service contacts of nearly 7,400 Māori who were released from prisons in a 12-month period from June 2021.
Published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, the study found that only 76 per cent were enrolled with a primary health organisation, compared to 95 per cent of the total New Zealand population, meaning 24 per cent did not have access to subsidised primary care. This is likely due to Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand rules that exclude those in prison or on remand from being enrolled with a primary health organisation.
The study found that Māori recently released from prison accessed primary care services despite barriers, but there was nonetheless evidence that primary care services are not meeting their high health needs.
Meanwhile, the research published in BMC Health & Justice found a six per cent undercount of the Māori prison population, calculated by comparing Department of Corrections and Stats NZ data with Census data, equating to 405 fewer than what is publicly reported by the Government.
Associate Professor King says it is important the numbers accurately reflect reality because the Government needs to understand how its criminal legal system is performing in relation to Māori health, and the elimination of inequities.
"Both of these studies reflect a breach of the Government's Te Tiriti obligations to monitor and evaluate impacts of Government actions and inactions for Māori," she says.
Both studies were part of a kaupapa Māori research project, TIAKI, conducted with community-based research partner Tū Kotahi and led by Associate Professor King, Manager of Tū Kotahi Cheryl Davies and Otago Senior Practice Fellow, Associate Professor Ruth Cunningham.
Associate Professor King explains the project focused on the specific area of community re-entry wellbeing for whānau released from prisons.
"This is a critical intervention point to disrupt cycles of intergenerational harms, and to support restoration of health and wellbeing for Māori.
"Prisons are increasingly being recognised as a powerful determinant of health and wellbeing across the life course, with age at first imprisonment found to be an important predictor of adverse health outcomes.
"We know our research will provide the most comprehensive knowledge to date about community re-entry for Māori in an area where there is a need for available and effective solutions. We want the solution generated to contribute to restoration of wellbeing for Māori and also for Indigenous peoples globally."
Publication:
The undercounting of Indigenous Māori imprisoned by the New Zealand carceral state: a national record study
Paula Toko King, Frederieke Sanne Petrović-van der Deen, Melissa McLeod, Ricci Harris, Cheryl Davies, Donna Cormack, Tristram Ingham, Bernadette Jones, Bridget Robson, Natalie Paki Paki, Gabrielle Baker, Belinda Tuari-Toma, Jeannine Stairmand, Marama Cole, Tīria Pehi, Julia Carr, Christopher Kemp, Marshall H. Chin & Ruth Cunningham
Health & Justice
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-025-00355-3
Health in justice or health injustice? Indigenous Māori experiences of primary care following release from New Zealand prisons: a national record study
Paula Toko King, Frederieke Sanne Petrović-van der Deen, Cheryl Davies, Bridget Robson, Sue Crengle, Gabrielle Baker, Julia Carr, Natalie Paki Paki, Tīria Pehi, Marama Cole, Bernadette Jones, Tristram Ingham, Jeannine Stairmand, Belinda Tuari-Toma, Christopher Kemp, Marshall H Chin, Ruth Cunningham
Social Science & Medicine
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40961639/
TIAKI project:
In addition to published research, the group has translated its findings into mechanisms that contribute to improving wellbeing outcomes for Māori, their whānau and communities.
One example of this is Out the Gate, a theatre marae production led by company Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu, directed by Jim Moriarty with screenplay by Helen Ōtene-Pearse and choreography by Tānemahuta Gray.
The production is based on TIAKI's research and interviews and there are a number of whānau with lived experience in the play itself.
The group has also produced a limited podcast series about Māori experiences of prisons and the criminal legal system, and solutions for change, due to be released early next year.
