Therapeutic Products Bill changes free up rongoā Māori

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Rongoā Māori and natural health product manufacturers are to be exempt from regulation under the Therapeutic Products Bill after months of public hui and submissions calling on the Government to exclude it from the Bill.

Cran Gage, of Cran Gage Bodywork, a rongoā Māori practitioner based in Tairāwhiti Gisborne says he is over the moon this has been announced.

“It’s a taonga for Māori to manage ourselves without Crown intervention and I think we are quite capable of managing it ourselves,” Mr Gage said.

“We have fought hard since the Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 to keep it away from the Crown and this is one of the first times they have listened to us. I’m over the moon.”

Government regulation was not needed, he said.

“We don’t need regulation over that because when you are making that rongoā we regulate it from our wairua. Our tīpuna give us regulation, not the Crown.”

He said people in Aotearoa New Zealand were becoming more aware of the benefits of rongoā māori practitioners.

“I am open to everyone. People are looking for alternative therapies and this is an alternative. Our approach as Māori is that we awhi and manaaki anyone who comes in, with a hongi and awhi, compared to a physio where you might be sitting in a cold waiting room. For me, I say ‘kia ora bro, kia ora sis’, and thank them for coming to see me. That’s the different approach we as Māori take.”

It is proposed that in most cases Government will not regulate rongoā in the new regulatory system.

Associate Minister for Health (Māori) Peeni Henare says Māori will retain determination around what rongoā means to them, and who is a rongoā practitioner.

“I rongo mātou . We have listened to what Māori have told us. It is now proposed that in most cases Government will not regulate rongoā in the new regulatory system. That means whānau will continue to use and manage rongoā just as they have for generations.

“We are serious about protecting rongoā and rongoā practitioners. Proposed changes to the Bill will also ensure rongoā activities and services operating from marae continue as usual.”

The cases in which regulation will apply is when products are made for commercial wholesale or commercial export. Most rongoā practitioners do not operate in this way so the change will not affect their day-to-day practice.

“It is important for the Crown to ensure mātanga rongoā can access the export market if they choose to and protect rongoā from those that might abuse it. For example, people who aren’t practitioners may try to market a product as rongoā which is not recognised or endorsed by mātanga rongoā, and in so doing, cause harm to rongoā and mātauranga Māori,” Henare said.

The Government will establish an advisory committee of rongoā experts and Māori health leaders to implement the new provisions in the Bill.

Members will be appointed by the Minister of Health, Associate Minister of Health (Māori) and Minister for Māori Development, in consultation with other Ministers and health agencies.

“We recognise Māori have their own systems in place to regulate rongoā, and these will continue to be used to ensure the oranga of whānau and Māori communities,” Henare said. “We also acknowledge government doesn’t have the expertise to protect rongoā in a way that upholds mātauranga Māori. That’s why we’re establishing a committee to take on that protection role and guide the implementation of the Bill.”

Health Minister Ayesha Verrall said the changes announced recognise that the Bill as originally drafted “went too far.”

“For example, particular concerns were raised that the regulatory regime for Natural Health Practitioners (NPH) wasn’t risk proportionate, and the costs may drive small producers of NHPs out of business,” Verall said. A number of NHP producers operate out of their homes and produce a small quantity often sold locally such as at farmers’ markets.

“The Bill is intended to support product safety, but regulation needs to be proportionate to risk. While NHPs aren’t risk-free, I’m comfortable that the evidence available suggests these products don’t pose a significant public health risk,” Verrall said.

“Under changes to the Bill the Government is proposing to make, small-scale NHP producers won’t need to obtain a product authorisation or manufacturing licence from the new Regulator where their products are made and supplied in-person to customers in New Zealand. Product authorisation will still be required for imported NHPs,” Verrall said.

The Government will introduce a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) amending the Bill to remove many of its obligations in relation to small-scale NHP producers and rongoā practitioners. The details of the small-scale NHP producers’ exemption will be set out in secondary legislation, to be made after the Bill passes.