By Tuesday, 23 September 2025, 4:40 Pm Press Release: Te Tiratu

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Despite the government’s ambitious July 2024 mental health and addiction targets, rangatahi Māori in rural Waikato are falling through the cracks. Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand data with evidence from Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board and local whānau voices shows that services are under-resourced, overstretched, and failing to meet the standards set by the government to monitor of health system performance by the Ministry.

National government targets include:

Faster access to services: 80% of individuals to reach primary mental health and addiction services within one week, and mental health specialist services within three weeks.Emergency department efficiency: 95% of mental health-related ED presentations admitted, discharged, or transferred within six hours.Workforce development: Train 500 new mental health professionals annually.Prevention and early intervention: Allocate 25% of mental health funding to prevention.

Reality on the ground in rural Waikato:

Over 200 tamariki/rangatahi have open referrals, with waitlists rising steadily since 2023 including 10 per month waiting for ADHD assessments and 21 for other mental health services.Frequent crises: Average of 10 crisis contact days per month, with 79 under-25s admitted to Henry Rongomai Bennett Centre since 2021 (average stay 14 days).Rural workforce gaps: Schools and providers rely on Police, St John, and Women’s Refuge to manage crises, far beyond their scope. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and counsellors are largely unavailable locally.Prevention funding gaps: Iwi- and whānau-led programmes like Hauora Waikato, Te Awhi Whānau, and Puāwai Project are underfunded despite proven success in building resilience and wellbeing.

“Our rangatahi are simply falling through the cracks,” says Brandi Hudson, Te Tumu Whakarae of Te Tiratū IMPB.

“The government has set clear targets, yet in rural Māori communities we are seeing long waits, repeated crises, and preventable hospitalisations. Immediate, targeted, and culturally grounded investment is not optional, it is urgent. I will be raising these issues directly with Minister Doocey when he visits Te Kūiti on Wednesday as part of his Rural Roadshow.”

Te Tiratū is calling on the government to prioritise early intervention and prevention for rural Māori youth, expand workforce capacity in King Country and other rural areas, fully resource iwi- and whānau-led programmes that are already proving effective, and ensure funding reaches the communities most at risk, not just metropolitan centres.

Without urgent action, the mental health crisis among rangatahi Māori will worsen, with devastating long-term consequences for whānau, communities, and the health system.

The Te Tiratū Iwi Maori Partnership Board represents the interests of 121,000 whānau Māori in the Tainui waka rohe and encompasses iwi from Waikato, Pare Hauraki, Raukawa, Te Nehenehenui (Maniapoto), Ngāti Hāua (Taumarunui), and Te Rūnanga o Kirikiriroa (Mātāwaka).

Minister Doocey will be at the Les Munro Centre in Te Kūiti for the Rural Roadshow from 12pm-1.30pm tomorrow.

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