Newly established Māori Gambling Harm Minimisation Collective – Te Kāhui Mokoroa says more needs to be done to achieve equity in health outcomes for Māori experiencing gambling harm.
Formed in early 2024, the vision for Te Kāhui Mokoroa is a future in which whānau and communities flourish – free from gambling harm.
At the recent International Gambling Conference held at Auckland University Technology 10 – 12 July 2024, the Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey restated the government’s commitment to a target of 25 percent of mental health and addiction investment focused upstream on prevention and early intervention.
Te Kāhui Mokoroa spokesperson Mr Shannon Hanrahan said:
“Two years into the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act coming into force, with the industry profits continuing to rise, and the levels of harm our whānau experience continue to increase, it is imperative now to reflect. How much progress has been made towards the achievement of equitable health outcomes for Māori when it comes to gambling harm? We welcome Mental Health Minister Doocey’s comments reorienting investment upstream to prevent harm from occurring and acting quickly to ensure our whānau receive help. The costs and burden of harm carried by our whānau, and in our communities will be seen, felt and lived for generations if we do not take action now. We welcome further conversations with the Minister, local government, statutory decision makers and, the gambling regulator about how we work to achieve Pae Ora using existing regulatory tools and policy levers.”
In Aotearoa 74% of the amount lost to pokies comes from areas of high deprivation. However, these areas only receive 12% of the community grants.
Shannon Hanrahan went on to say, “In my community of Ōpōtiki – we see the harmful impacts of gambling every day. No kai on the table, no shoes and clothing for kids, rent not being paid. $7,900 is lost every day on the pokies. Gambling is a reverse robin hood tax; it takes money away from the whānau and communities that can least afford it.”
The 2020 Household Lifestyle Survey (HLS) indicated that Māori were 3.13 times more likely to be moderate or high-risk gamblers than non-Māori and non-Pasifika groups. The 2020 HLS showed that around 74,000 young people / rangatahi are moderate and high-risk gamblers. We know that gambling addictions are complex, we know that there is a significant stigma around help-seeking, however until there is a system that prioritises wellbeing over profit – we will continue to see the harm from gambling exacerbate.
The Pae Ora Healthy Futures Act (2022) came into effect on 1 July 2022. The purpose of the Act is to provide for the public funding and provision of services in order to protect, promote, and improve the health of all New Zealanders; and achieve equity in health outcomes among New Zealand’s population groups, including by striving to eliminate health disparities, in particular for Māori; and build towards pae ora (healthy futures) for all New Zealanders.