Sunday 22 January 2006

Money for voodoo

"Money for Maori voodoo," said my correspondent who sent me this link. Whose money? Yours, naturally.
SUNDAY STAR-TIMES: The government spends more than a million dollars a year on traditional Maori therapies - and has no proof that they work.

The therapies include spiritual healing using prayer, seawater and greenstone.

Other alternative therapies, such as homeopathy and naturopathy, receive no public money.

But the government gives $1.3 million a year to 12 Maori health providers for traditional, or rongoa, services.

Y'happy with that? Arguments about 'culture' should not make your chosen cultural practices immune for rational criticism. Nonsense is nonsense, where it occurs.

Now, as to whether the Government should be spending your money and any particular therapies... now that's a different question altogether...

Linked Article: Maori healers get $1.3m for unproven cures - Sunday Star-Times

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm just shaking my head in disbelief at this crap.
According to reports in what we laughingly refer to as "newspapers" here in NZ, Don Brash is going to try and present a "softer" face of National in his next Orewa speech.
Big mistake,imho. There was a collective "YESSS!" when he talked about ending special treatment based on race. If he's getting sucked towards the left in a desperate chase for some mythical Average Kiwi Voter it's not going to work. The huge increase in National's vote was probably due to the hope that he'd end this race-based bullshit.
Keith

Anonymous said...

in auckland hospital they bless every new real doctor with a maori witch doctor who is on the payroll fulltime,but the hospital is short of heart surgeons.
Now thats a fucking scandal!!!

Oswald Bastable said...

Drink is the answer to all questions. It is unhealthey to drink alone, so for a modest fee...