Mike, In New Zealand even people on the lowest income have sufficient income to live healthily, I should know, I have a large healthy family and we live on a lower per capita income than those on government benefits ( we have a small business), in the past 10 years we have needed only 3 or 4 visits to the doctor due to minor accidents. To put it plainly we live like Kings in spite of a very low income , and thus those who say that the Maori are unhealthy due to economic circumstance forced upon them are completely wrong, it is not a matter of low funding it is a matter of taking the time and effort to make healthy lifestyle choices. If Maori choose not to be healthy then we cannot force them we can only offer the opportunity.  
 
If Maori wish to assert their own cultural identity then they would do well to reject unnhealthy products and return to healthier diet similar to that of their ancestors ( perhaps with the exception of human meat ). . . as a matter of fact I believe that we should all do this.

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