North & South – June 2019

NEW

ZEALAND

SYMPHONY

ORCHESTRA

PODIUM SERIES

Book at nzso.co.nz

Winter

Daydreams

Christopher Blake

Angel at Ahipara

Stravinsky

Violin Concerto

Tchaikovsky

Symphony No. 1

Winter Daydreams

Fawzi Haimor

Conductor

Carolin Widmann

Violin

Flatmates(1997)

GuessWho’sComingtoDinner (1998)

FishoutofWater(1998)

TheMole(2000)

Colonial House(2003)

Captive(2004)

ThePlayer(2004)

LivingtheDream(2004)

MissPopularity(2005)

Neighbours at War (2005)

ortoengageinstimulatingconversa-

tionswiththem.

Theappallinghealthstatisticsre-

ferredtorelatetodiseasesknowntobe

associatedwithurbanpoverty.Cheaper

foodsarebytheirnaturealsoaddictive

andheavilymarketedtochildren,which

makesithardtoprioritisehealthy

choices,evenif meetingtheneedsofa

familywithhealthyfoodalonewere

possibleonthelowestincomes.

Ifyoucan’taffordthepetroltogoto

thebeach,orthecinemaentry,orto

planeventstolookforwardto,sugary

foods,cigarettesorcheapalcoholmay

betheonlytreatspossible.

Anecdotallyfroma medicalsource,I

hearthatmanypatients,Māoriinclud-

ed,towhomdiabetesanditsmanage-

menthasbeenexplainedclearly,are

appreciativeofthetimetakentodoso,

anddogoontotakeresponsibilityfor

theirhealth.Ofcourse,manyothers,

includingPākehā,donot.

Yes,thestatisticsaroundMāorirates

ofsuicide,childabuse,mentalillness

andearlymortalityareshameful.

Whoseshameis it,asalloftheseillscan

betracedbacktodispossessionanddis-

location?Butlet’staketheexampleof

themanygenerousMāoriandmoveon

fromapportioningblame.Instead,let’s

useourenergytotakecollectiveand

individualresponsibilityforunder-

standingourhistorysowecanavoid

perpetuatinginjusticeinthoughtor

deed,andfreeourselvestocreatea bet-

tercultureandsocietyforcurrentand

futuregenerations.Afterall,allNew

Zealanderswouldbenefit fromim-

provedMāorihealth.

LOUISETUDOR,AUCKLAND

• Thisletterhasbeensubstantially
  edited for space – Editor.

hasbeen,ifnotthefirstlanguage,a
valuedandencouragedwayofcommu-
nicating.Theseyoungpeopleareconfi-
dentintheirattachmentstopeopleand
toplaces,fromwhichtūrangawaewae
theycangooutintotheworldand
contribute.Theyarealsorobustenough
todealwiththepainandpressuresof
theracismtheyencounteralongthe
way,evenwhenit hurtsandit unfairly
disadvantagesthem.
Pākehāalivetodaydidnotpunishor
denigrateMāoriforspeakingtereo,and
sorobthemoftheircultureandidenti-
ty;nordidwestealtheirlandandlive-
lihood– butourancestorsdid,and
throughinheritancesomeofusareben-
eficiariesofthiscolonisation.Forthis,I
wishusnottobeparalysedbyguiltand
sorrow,butrathertobemovedtoun-
derstandtheproblemsthishascaused,
howthesehavebeenperpetuatedin-
ter-generationally,andtosupportsolu-
tions,evenif that’sonlybyensuringwe
fullyunderstandthereasonsforandthe
operationofpositiveactionsundertak-
enspecificallyforMāori.
Barneswelldescribesthecontrastbe-
tweentheparentingofferedbythosewith
differentresources,andweknowpoverty
disadvantagesMāoridisproportionately.
Mostpeoplewhoareworkingfull-time
fora lowwage,possiblydoingmorethan
onejobtomakeendsmeet,simplydonot
havethetimetohelpwithhomework,
takechildrentothelibraryetc,evenif
theycouldmustertheenergy.
Chronicpoverty,unlikethefewlean
dayssomeofusmayexperiencejust
beforethenextpaycheque,is frighten-
ingandstressful,andthereforeexhaust-
inganddepressing.Whenourbrainsare
insurvivalmode,focusedoncoping,we
lackthecapacitytomoveinandoutof
spontaneous enjoyment of our children

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All New Zealanders would benefit from improved Māori health.