Negative mass media representations of Māori are of major concern, impacting on Māori/Pakeha relations, how Māori see themselves, on collective health and wellbeing, and ultimately undermining the fundamentals of equity and justice in our society. In this article, we outline a number of important patterns that constitute the contextual discursive resources of such depictions identified in representative media samples and other sources and provide a set of alternative framings for each pattern. Our purpose is to challenge what Deuze (2004) has referred to as an 'occupational ideology' of journalism and ultimately to change Pakeha newsmaking practices that routinely undermine efforts to approach and attain social justice in the field of Māori/Pakeha relations in Aotearoa.

ObjectiveChild and adolescent obesity continues to be a major health issue internationally. This study aims to understand the views and experiences of caregivers and participants in a child and adolescent multidisciplinary programme for healthy lifestyle change.DesignQualitative focus group study.SettingCommunity-based healthy lifestyle intervention programme in a mixed urban–rural region of Aotearoa/New Zealand.ParticipantsParents/caregivers (n=6) and children/adolescents (n=8) who participated in at least 6 months of an assessment and weekly session, family-based community intervention programme for children and adolescents affected by obesity.ResultsFindings covered participant experiences, healthy lifestyle changes due to participating in the programme, the delivery team, barriers to engagement and improvements. Across these domains, four key themes emerged from the focus groups for participants and their caregivers relating to their experience: knowledge-sharing, enabling a family to become self-determining in their process to achieve healthy lifestyle change; the importance of connectedness and a family-based programme; the sense of a collective journey and the importance of a nonjudgemental, respectful welcoming environment. Logistical challenges and recommendations for improvement were also identified.ConclusionsPolicymakers need to consider the experiences of participants alongside quantitative outcomes when informing multidisciplinary intervention programmes for children and adolescents affected by obesity.Trial registration number Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR):12611000862943; Post-results.

The media has the potential to undermine wellbeing and opportunities for Treaty-based social justice in its representation of Mäori, relationships between Mäori and non-Mäori, and in its promotion of particular understandings of the Treaty of Waitangi. This paper presents research exploring the meaning-making of Päkehä and tauiwi (immigrant) focus group participants in relation to media representations of Mäori and the Treaty of Waitangi. We also discuss the impact of recurrent media portrayals of Mäori and the Treaty on health and well being as understood by the focus groups.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the arrival of imperial ideologies in the 19th century led to devastating land-loss and cultural marginalisation for Māori at the hands of settlers and successive governments. This article examines the damaging effects of a Crown-imposed treaty claims settlement system designed to address injustices inflicted on Māori. Interview data from a Taranaki-based (a West Coast region, central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand) hapū (sub-tribe) that engaged with this system foreground the adversarial nature of this system and its continuation of trauma. We argue that, while the process provides voice to Māori, it does so within a paradigm that pits kin-groups against each other, unjustly limits redress and fails to resolve tension. A tikanga framing provides insights into how tensions are set up and ways tikanga (underlying values and principles that guide practice) can be used outside the redress system to seek healing and resolution.