I received this today from ACC https://www.acc.co.nz/newsroom/stories/rongoa-maori-practitioner-hopes-traditional-healing-system-becomes-mainstream One of the practitioners (above) is promoted and the following claim is made: "“When you are out of alignment or out of balance – whether it’s mental, psychological, physical, or spiritual – it’s normally an indication, or a tohu (sign), that there is something deeper going on than the symptoms that are presenting .” The ACC is well aware that medical evidence has long debunked this sort of approach. If you do a simple PubMed search on Rongoa, there are 21 citations (out of many millions). Only one controlled trial (of Kanuka oil for ezcema), is shown. There is no issue with doing western styled research on plants and traditional medicines - it is something that has been going on in pharmaceutical research since the 19th centrury, but what is distrubing, is the apparent acceptance by ACC that somehow the spiritualism of Maori Rongoa traditional medical practice is acceptable whereas it is not acceptable if coming out western cultures. Much of this sort on thing is pure religious mumbo jumbo and there is simply no scientific evidence that anything these practitioners do is superior to western medical approaches, for Maori or anyone else. We are tax / levy payers that have to pay for this nonsense and should be taking ACC and the Health Department for the double standards being applied here. Christian or other exorcisms would not (& should not) be tolerated on the Health budget.

As a registered Specialist Physiotherapist (Musculoskeletal) I have just been sent the latest suggested changes to the New Zealand Physiotherapy Board's accreditation document. Needless to say the proposed changes are mostly about installing references to the TOW, 'partnership', Maori culture, values, science and demands. Of course, in my response to the proposed changes, I have told the Board that I thoroughly disapprove of the suggested changes, and regard them as offensive, racist, divisive etc. Soon you will have to be an expert in Maori healing practices & spirituality to be licensed as a physiotherapist, and compulsory brainwashing courses on cultural safety are not far away. I have practised for over 50 years and proudly consider myself to be colour blind and without any professional biases with regards to race, culture or ethnicity. I have never treated patients differently depending on race, ethnicity or culture, and don't intend to start. I simply don't know of any physiotherapist who does. The claims of systemic racism are nonsense. The differences between Maori & non-Maori health outcomes accesing of health services are invalidly based on factors mostly outside of the control of health care providers like: personal preferences of Maori/Pacifica when the are ill, socioeconomic factors and a higher % of Maori in rural environments etc. This is not system racism, but a blame/shame tactic of extremist elements in left leaning parties and especially journalists who frankly know little about medicine & health care practitioners.