Waikaremoana Waitoki

INTRODUCTION Human genealogies—family descent lines and networks—perform diverse functions. They may describe kinship relationships, delimit group membership, explain the historical cause of events in the present (e.g., Varto, 2015), or be all-encompassing ontologies (e.g., Tau, 2001b). Genealogies also provide structure to the ways in which understandings of the past are recorded, maintained, and recounted for many oral- and written-knowledge-based societies.

In late March, Māori and Pacific students once again became the focal point of racial political discourse. This time, the deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, likened designated areas for Māori and Pasifika at the University of Auckland to alt-right racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Meanwhile Act MP Dr Parmjeet Parmar criticised these spaces as promoting “exclusion and separation”.

There aren’t enough psychologists to meet the increasing demand for mental health care. Psychological services are in crisis. What are the solutions, and does the training of psychologists meet the needs in our communities? Here’s kōrero from Waikaremoana Waitoki, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at Waikato University. In my work as a clinical psychologist, I saw tamariki who had health issues and issues at home who were consistently overlooked by those who could have helped.