Headway Calls For Urgent Action To Stop 'Run It Straight'
Headway is raising urgent concerns about the Run It Straight events scheduled to take place across Auckland this month, calling them 'dangerous spectacles' with a very real risk of traumatic brain injury or death.
'These events are not sport. They're commercialised violence targeting the most vulnerable in our community,' said Stacey Mowbray, CEO. 'We see the lifelong impact of brain injury every day. This is not entertainment. It's a public health and safety crisis waiting to happen.'
While concussions are often dismissed as mild or temporary, Headway notes that even so-called 'minor' brain injuries can lead to long-term mental health challenges, reduced capacity to work, and serious impacts on whānau. The organisation says the format and promotion of the Run It Straight events appear to deliberately target financially vulnerable people by offering large prize pools up to $20,000.
'It's tough to say no to that kind of money when you're struggling but it's unacceptable to use financial hardship as leverage to expose people to brain injury,' said Mowbray.
Headway also questions how these events were permitted. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, organisers must manage risks 'so far as is reasonably practicable.' Based on the scientific evidence on brain trauma, Headway believes these risks cannot be reasonably mitigated—especially not by the superficial measures promoted by organisers.
'The claim that onsite doctors and mouthguards are sufficient to make this safe is deeply misleading,' said the spokesperson. 'These do not prevent brain injury.'
Earlier this month, Headway raised the issue with Auckland Council, the Mayor's office, Councillors, MPs, and WorkSafe New Zealand. Responses to date have been unsatisfactory, and the organisation will now be submitting an Official Information Act request to determine how permits were issued and what risk assessments, if any, were reviewed.
The largest of the upcoming events is being held at Trusts Arena. Headway is particularly concerned about the involvement of Chanel Harris-Tavita as a special guest and have contacted the New Zealand Warriors to express concern about his endorsement of the event.
Headway has also contacted Auckland Rugby Union and Auckland Rugby League to understand how an affiliated rugby club and rugby league club could also host smaller versions of Run it Straight.
'We urge venue operators, local authorities, and sports bodies to act now,' said the spokesperson. 'These events carry serious, lasting harm—and those enabling them share responsibility.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
ACC services not designed for people with concussion, says support group
A brain-injury support group says ACC's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work for people with concussion. Photo: People with concussion are struggling to find the right support from ACC following a diagnosis, a brain injury support group says. Headway has campaigned for years to change the way ACC manages people with Traumatic Brain Injuries. Chief executive Stacey Mowbray told RNZ's Afternoons it was great New Zealand had a national insurance scheme like ACC, but said the one-size-fits-all approach did not work. "We're really worried that the system of ACC really expects someone with a concussion - so they're struggling to think straight, they're really having memory issues - to navigate the same processes as someone with a twisted ankle," she said. "We just don't think that the system is set up to deal with the complexities that someone faces with a concussion. "Sitting on the phone on hold for an hour when I've got a concussion and there's music playing really loudly, that is going to be really challenging for someone with a concussion." By contrast, some banks allowed customers to opt out of listening to music, while they were on hold, Mowbray said. ACC's acting head of client recovery, Matthew Goodger, pushed back on Mowbray's comments however, and said ACC did not have a one-size-fits-all approach. "Our systems and teams are designed to support a wide range of injuries, including concussion, within this broader context. All claims are assessed and handled on a case-by-case basis. "The way we support people, and which team supports them, depends on their needs." Mowbray called for more understanding from ACC, and more education and training for staff. "We think the real gap is better understanding from the staff and just thinking about some of those simple processes." People trying to access ACC services were not always told what support they may be entitled to, she said. "Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to always happen and, again, I think it might come back to education and understanding. "You don't know what you don't know, so I don't know what entitlements there are for me with ACC, and unless ACC consistently discloses these entitlements, it makes it so difficult for someone to actually say, 'Look, I'm having real visual issues, my vision is foggy, I'm struggling to see distances, it's not safe for me to drive'. "We would like to see ACC frontfooting that and saying, 'We will cover transport to your appointments, we'll cover transport'... just a little bit more openness around disclosing entitlements." While staff may be trying their best, they may not know, for example, visual issues and feeling dizzy were common with concussion, and driving may be a problem, Mowbray said. Goodger said ACC staff dealing directly with clients completed an eLearning module during induction which taught them about TBIs - it covered how the different types of brain injury affect different functions in clients' brains and the tasks they do in everyday life. There was also a facilitated training session that expanded on the initial training, he said. "If someone has a severe TBI they will have a lead provider who can also help them navigate the health system, which includes ACC. We work closely with lead providers. "Clients can also appoint someone else, such as friend or family member, who can communicate with us on their behalf about their claim." Mowbray suggested anyone having trouble with the process should contact Wayfinders, a free service that helped the public deal with ACC, Goodger agreed with this. It was not all bad news, with a new brain-injury screening tool helping general practitioners develop care plans for people with concussion. "We are the best place in the world to have a concussion, I think, because we've got these world-leading researchers," Mowbray said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Mayor's Message To Health Minister: Don't Go Down The Private Route
Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca has pleaded with the Health Minister to not allow the privatisation and Americanisation of New Zealand's healthcare system. Dr Luca, a research scientist and president of Whakatāne Grey Power, was granted a half hour to make his case to Health Minister Simeon Brown in Auckland on Thursday. He was joined in his meeting by fellow Whakatāne Grey Power members, Raewyn Kingsley-Smith, Suzanne Williams, Vern Scheffer and Catrina Jones. Dr Luca has been seeking the meeting since April. 'I was blown over because I wasn't expecting a response,' Dr Luca said. Before the meeting, he told Local Democracy Reporting he would be asking Mr Brown not to take the route toward privatisation. 'We do not want a health system that in any way resembles what goes on in the United States, where the health service is dominated by private businesses,' Dr Luca said. He said there was a widening gap between health services for the 35 percent of New Zealanders who could afford health insurance and the 65 percent who couldn't. 'We are definitely headed towards a two-tiered system like they have in the United States. Mr Brown said his priority was ensuring all NewZealanders had access to timely, quality healthcare. "New Zealanders don't care who does their operation – they just want it done, and done quickly," he said. He said he greatly valued the opportunity to meet with local mayors and to discuss the health issues that mattered most in their communities. Advertisement - scroll to continue reading Dr Luca asked Mr Brown for 'definitive proof" that privatisation would improve economic outcomes and benefit patient outcomes. He said he had put the same question to the Ministry of Health several years ago, which said it was not privatising the health system. Since then, he said his research showed New Zealand was headed down a track toward privatisation. 'I've got the proof that they are,' Dr Luca said. In 2023, he made requests under the Official Information Act to all District Health Boards asking for a breakdown of full-time equivalent staff numbers in the public and private sectors. The data he received, which dated back to only 2020, showed a 30 percent increase in privatisation in some fields over the three years. The specialties that had the highest levels of privatisation were sports medicine, general practice, muscoloskeletal medicine and urgent care. After Thursday's meeting, Dr Luca said Mr Brown had not denied privatisation but was not able to provide the proof he sought that privatisation had economic or patient outcome benefits. He said they emphasised the equity issue. 'We can only hope our little gambit has made him think a bit more about the equity issue and the plight of all those people who don't have insurance.' The Whakatāne deputation also addressed the issue of operation waiting lists with the minister. Dr Luca recounted his experience of having to wait over a month for an appointment to see his GP. Grey Power's Ms Kingsley Smith told the minister about struggling for five years with hip pain before receiving a referral to a specialist, her year-long wait to see one, and her current wait, possibly for another year, to receive a hip replacement surgery. 'It is devastating to be placed on a waiting list to see a specialist or surgeon and be laughed at when you ask for your appointment date,' she said. ''Ha ha, it won't be inside a year',' she was told. After seeking help for a sore hip that had deteriorated since an injury 11 years ago, she said the latest X-ray CT results clearly showed there was no ball left on the right hip joint. 'My only hope is surgery and it's urgent. If it can't be done in time for me to make a good recovery, I think I will have to sell up and go into care.' Mr Brown said the Government's Elective Boost programme meant thousands more New Zealanders were getting the procedures they needed sooner. "Making full use of both public and private capacity is critical to reducing waitlists," he said. Whakatāne Grey Power has been pushing the issue of health care for the past five years. In 2022, the group put a remit together to the New Zealand Federation of Grey Power to put pressure on the Government on better health services. Dr Luca has used his mayoral office to address the issue as well, holding an online Community Health Forum with national health experts in Whakatāne District Council chambers in Feburary. He initiated the setting up a health equity advocacy committee within the council with input from local health providers. Dr Luca also wrote to the minister on behalf of the council to express the community's concern at the removal of the secondary maternity services at Whakatāne Hospital. At yesterday's meeting, he thanked Mr Brown for his support in that matter and for financing more doctor training. 'I think in terms of workforce, they are trying to get more doctors through the pipeline but you're not going to be seeing them for another 10 or 12 years.'
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Why ACC needs to offer more support for head injuries
Awareness of the impacts of concussion has grown significantly in recent years but advocates say many sufferers still struggle to get the right support from ACC following a diagnosis. Brain injury support group Headway has been campaigning for years for changes to the way ACC manages people with Traumatic Brain Injuries CEO Stacey Mowbray joins Jesse. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
