National hui in Te Tai Tokerau to shift palliative care conversations

By 2028, over a million New Zealanders are projected to be over 65, making the need for a community-based approach to end-of-life care more important than ever before.

Held over three days, the hui includes keynote speakers, lived-experience panels, local field trips and hands-on workshops to build connection, understanding and practical skills around death and dying.

Speakers from across the country include Dr Warrick Jones (North Haven Hospice) on the future of palliative care; Dr Tess Moeke-Maxwell (Ngāi Tai, Ngāti Porou) who brings a kaupapa Māori lens to end-of-life care and assisted dying; and Dr Carol McAllum from Honohono Tātou Katoa on creating compassionate communities. Other topics over the three days include how we talk about death with children (Elisabeth Price, Auckland University), suicide understanding and prevention (Crystal Paikea, Te Whatu Ora), emergency responses to fatal accidents (Ben Lockie, St John Ambulance), and reclaiming traditional funeral practices (A Graceful Undertaking).

Led by local business Go With Grace – a resource dedicated to guiding and supporting New Zealanders through death and dying – and delivered in partnership with North Haven Hospice, the hui brings together healthcare professionals, carers, whānau, community leaders, wellness practitioners, and cultural advisors. Their shared aim is to build compassionate, connected ‘villages of support’ across New Zealand.

“Many of us are taught to shy away from conversations about death and dying,” says Go With Grace founder Katy Mandeno. “But the reality is, these conversations are essential to creating resilient, empowered communities that can care for their own. We’re proud to bring this movement to Northland.”

The final day – Saturday 24 May – will feature a series of community events, including He Hui Ahurea: Cultural Perspectives & Conversations on Death and Dying, a free gathering at Hihiaua Cultural Centre, alongside a series of creative and healing workshops open to the public.

The compassionate communities model is based on World Health Organisation public health principles and is gaining momentum internationally. It encourages communities to take an active role in supporting one another at the end of life – not as a replacement for medical care, but as a vital social extension of it.

“Death, dying loss and care giving are social experiences that have a medical component rather than medical experience with a social component,” says Director of Compassionate Communities UK Dr Julian Abel.

The hui will place a strong emphasis on knowledge sharing, helping to build a national database of compassionate communities and grow a digital library of resources to support New Zealanders.

“If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to support, care for and be there for those who are dying, and their whānau,” says Helen Blaxland CEO of North Haven Hospice. “It’s about working together, looking out for one another and returning to a place where death and dying is a normal part of our lives.”

“With over a million New Zealanders projected to be over 65 within three years, the need is urgent. “We simply don’t have the infrastructure or workforce to meet the needs of an ageing population alone,” says Ms Mandeno. “We need to prepare together – neighbours, marae, schools, workplaces, churches – all of us.”

This year’s hui has been made possible by the dedicated team at Te Atawhai Aroha – Compassionate Communities Rotorua, who led the first New Zealand Compassionate Communities Hui in 2024. Find out more about this year’s hui.