Access to addiction treatment is declining nationwide, even as methamphetamine use continues to rise, particularly in rural areas with large Māori populations.
A new report from Te Hiringa Mahara – the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission shows a 10.5% drop in the number of people accessing addiction treatment over the past five years.
The findings have sparked concern about whether services can keep pace with increasing demand.
Te Hiringa Mahara, Director of Māori Health, Maraea Johns, says wider systemic issues in the health sector were also being reflected in addiction treatment services.
“Kei te kite tātou, kua roa haere te tatari ki te uru atu. I runga i tērā, ngā wāhi noho ko ō tātou whānau, ehara kei roto i ngā taone, he nui nei ngā ratonga? E kāo. Engari ētahi kei waho.”
Methamphetamine use rising in rural regions
Methamphetamine use has spiked since 2023, especially in rural regions, according to data cited by Te Hiringa Mahara.
Communities seeing the most significant increases include:
- Waipukurau: 333%
- Kaikohe: 200%
- South Auckland: 98%
- Levin: 90%
- Tokoroa: 61%
- Huntly: 41%
Te Hiringa Mahara is urging the government to invest in “by Māori, for Māori” solutions, pointing to the effectiveness of community-led approaches rooted in te ao Māori.
“Kei te kite hoki mātou i te kaha, te ātaahua me te tutukitanga o ngā āhuatanga, ngā whāinga, ngā hua oranga e kitea nei e ngā whānau e uru atu nei.
“Tino whakapono ana kei a tātou ngā rongoā me ngā whakautu mō tērā, kei a tātou te iwi Māori.”
Pūwhakamua General Manager Billy Macfarlane works with bailed prisoners, guiding them to transform their lives through immersion in te ao Māori.
Macfarlane, a former drug dealer who turned his life around after serving a 14-year sentence for methamphetamine trafficking, says learning te reo and tikanga Māori offers a path to break free from addiction.
“Application of our tikanga Māori is the strongest medium I’ve seen to change the men’s thinking to work with addictions to work with violence, all sorts of stuff. As soon as we bring these men into our culture, it seems to do this amazing stuff for them.”
Lived experience key to recovery
Pūwhakamua partners with Te Ara Poutama (Corrections), supporting men on parole by immersing them in te ao Māori as a form of rehabilitation.
Macfarlane said it is critical to connect whānau with people who have lived experience of addiction and recovery.
“No one’s going to want to learn how to drive a car from someone who can’t drive.
“With addictions, it’s the same thing. You don’t know how to break a cycle of something that you’re not familiar with.”
Fewer referrals, more people turned away
In 2023/24, about 45,000 people accessed addiction treatment, 5,000 fewer than five years ago.
Referrals dropped 14.6% since their 2020/21 peak, while declined referrals nearly doubled, from 4.7% in 2019/20 to 8.6% in 2023/24.
Johns advocates expanding peer support models based on lived experience, especially for Māori.
“Kāre nei tāua e tino mōhio ki tērā ao, nā te mea, i whānau mai i roto i tērā ao. He Māori, kua kite te huarahi, kua kitea kei hea ngā tāngata e awhi nei, e tautoko nei i a rātou.”
