Another, very significant, example of why Māori privilege is a myth.
My ears pricked up a week back when ZB reported on recently released 2025/2026 suicide stats.
Like many NZers, people taking their own lives has had an impact on me. My birth father took his own life when I was sixteen and close to meeting him for the first time.
I have also been in schools when suicides have occurred and seen the toll it takes on so many people.
I have, many times, spoken to my good friend, Mike King, about causes, effects and solutions – and had him present in schools I have been involved in and to three separate groups in Russell when I lived there.
As background; many will be aware of a recent interview with David Seymour by Tova O’Brien.
O’Brien asked Seymour whether he thought Māori received special treatment.
“Of course they do,” he responded.
She responded:
“Only 7% of Māori get superannuation when Māori make up 15% of the population. 62% of the prison population is Māori.”
She continued: Māori are less likely to get a prescription, 50% more likely to experience psychosis, and experience diabetes at one and a half times the rate. Māori die younger. Māori receive poorer healthcare. Māori disproportionately fill our prisons.
O’Brien questioned why he had supported the addressing of historic inequality issues for women but not for Māori. Seymour’s response was that “women are a specific group of people” but he does not apply that to Māori.
I know the NZ education system and stats very well – and see no evidence of Māori privilege. Quite the opposite.
The suicide statistics for 2025/2026 are another stark reminder of the societal position of many Māori in our nation. (NB: Most recent stats are listed as “suspected” as full coroner process, etc, have not yet been completed).
Summary 2025/26
– Overall there were 10.5/100,000 (602) suspected suicides. This is down on a high of 13.2/100,000 in 2018/19.
– The male rate was 15.8/100,000
– The female rate was 5.1/100,000
(I have never seen anyone express qualms about targeted programmes for men).
– The highest age group rate was 17.4/100,000 for age 30-34.
– The Māori rate was 15.8/100,000
– The European rate was 12/100,000
– The Pasifika rate was 5.9/100,000
– The Asian rate was 3.2/100,000
It seems clear that there is a strong ethnicity component in these statistics that needs full addressing rather than the brush off that all people need to be treated the same and that Māori in NZ currently receive “special treatment”.
Two quotes from Mike King:
“A lot of young Māori men coming into puberty are thinking about what it means to be a man and I think Māori men in particular have a skewed outlook on that,” says King.
“They believe being a man in Māori culture is to be staunch, to be the protector and the provider and to show strength at all times. A depressive thought or a suicidal thought won’t kill you. But holding on to that thought and trying to battle through it alone, that’s the killer. So, what we need to do is create a society that makes it OK for men to talk about their problems.”