The Government’s decision to halt a planned nationwide expansion of rongoā Māori in prisons is facing strong criticism from practitioners who say traditional Māori healing is being misunderstood and reduced to little more than massage. Williams has been delivering rongoā Māori services inside New Zealand’s privately managed prison since January 2024. The debate erupted after Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell halted a procurement process that could have expanded rongoā Māori services to 13 prisons. That means the argument over rongoā Māori cannot simply be reduced to whether prisoners should receive massage. The real debate is whether traditional Māori healing has a legitimate place alongside Western healthcare, education and employment programmes within rehabilitation.