The government is revisiting how and if rongoā Māori - or traditional Māori medicine - is being incorporated and protected in legislation which aims to regulate natural medicine.

The Therapeutic Products Bill will regulate how pharmaceutical and natural health products are manufactured, tested, imported, promoted, supplied, and exported - including anything created from native plants. 

But rongoā practitioners are frustrated it's an over-reach, which will limit how they do their work and protect the knowledge of these practices. 

I asked Associate Health Minister, Peeni Henare - who introduced the bill - about what the Act aims to do and why he has established a workstream - or essentially a review - of how and if rongoā Māori is protected.