MAS Foundation: Revealing the harm of how Kiwis drink with Health Coalition Aotearoa in collaboration with Helen Clark Foundation

MAS Foundation is MAS's philanthropic arm, and takes a Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership-based approach to funding projects that address health equity issues in Aotearoa. MAS Foundation is committed to working alongside communities to help them find their own solutions. 

In this series, we profile some organisations and initiatives MAS Foundation is supporting and find out how partnering with MAS Foundation helped them make an impact. 

Supporting Health Coalition Aotearoa

In early 2020, MAS Foundation partnered with Health Coalition Aotearoa to support research into the extent of alcohol harm in Aotearoa. 

As a coordinating umbrella organisation, Health Coalition Aotearoa provides expert advice to inform policy and legislative change to address the impact of harmful products – tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy foods and beverages – to ensure greater health and equity.

In collaboration with the Helen Clark Foundation, a think-tank that aims to build a fairer and more sustainable Aotearoa, award-winning journalist Matt Shand was appointed as Health Equity Fellow, tasking him with finding and sharing data, insights, and stories on the real impact of alcohol in Aotearoa.

Who is Matt Shand?

Matt's career as a journalist has seen him come face-to-face with the harm caused by alcohol. 

"As a reporter, you're often at the coalface of tragedy. In many cases, this is covering the aftermath of alcohol, and it's quite distressing," he says.

As Health Equity Fellow, Matt is tasked with unearthing compelling data and insights that "might not have reached the eyes and ears of the public, and disseminating that out through various channels.

"There is excellent research being done by those at the frontline, and getting interesting datasets to the public helps in their work. I apply the principles of journalistic investigation and public interest to help get these messages out."

What issues are Health Coalition Aotearoa and the Helen Clark Foundation tackling?

Matt says, "We definitely need to look at the way in which we, as a country, are drinking alcohol. "Our culture of binge drinking causes a lot of damage."

"The statistics show that Māori have a disproportionate chance of becoming what's called a hazardous drinker – someone who drinks in a way that harms themselves, and other people."

Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley has seen close up the violence and harm that alcohol causes, having worked with Police and joined the community patrols in her area of Maungakiekie-Tāmaki.

"If you look at communities that have a proliferation of off-licences, the're low-income and predominantly Pasifika and Māori, so the effects of alcohol are hitting us harder. People think it's normal to go buy bread, toilet paper, and a box of Cody's early in the morning."

Legislation around alcohol sales desperately needs to be reviewed, says Josephine. "The Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act is too focused on the business of selling alcohol and needs to be reviewed to consider how to protect communities by stopping new liquor stores opening up where there are already too many."

What change would Health Coalition Aotearoa and the Helen Clark Foundation like to see?

Matt believes changes like reducing bottle shop opening hours, limiting how many off-licences are allowed in each area, and regulating or removing alcohol advertising and sponsorships could have a significant impact. 

"It's a start, but ultimately, we need policies to help drive a cultural shift. Removing alcohol from sports and reducing the opening hours of off-licences, are just two ways to denormalise the drinking culture."

Matt's research is now focused on junk food, and he's calling for the marketing and advertising of junk food to children to be limited.

Junk food advertising truly is the "wallpaper to children's lives", says Matt.

"It is on every street, on their devices, and even in children's rooms through sponsored advertising content. New Zealand currently has no laws that govern what can be advertised to children and instead relies on industry guidelines."

"Behind the scenes, we are working with experts to create web content, videos, and other means to promote these messages to the public to support our policy asks and wider goals."