The Death Series

Ria Earp talks to staff reporter Jaylan Boyle about the influence of Māori death customs on all New Zealanders. This interview with the Māori cultural advisor to Hospice New Zealand, who is also a former Deputy Director-General Māori Health, is the last of our Death Series features.

More New Zealanders than ever are dying in our rest homes, bringing demand for end-of-life care to an all-time high with no signs of slowing. But rest homes say that unless demand and expectations are accompanied by appropriate funding, the current situation is unsustainable. By JUDE BARBACK.

With the baby boomer generation ageing fast, it is projected that number of deaths in New Zealand’s will jump 50 per cent within two decades. Is our stretched, ‘death-denying’ health system ready for the steep upswing in demand for palliative and end-of-life care? Not yet, finds FIONA CASSIE.

The shared links between Māori and Chinese communities, including a mutual respect for their ancestors and a determination to do the right thing by their dead, are explored by staff reporter JAYLAN BOYLE.