Hon John Key
Prime Minister

6 May 2010 Media Statement
Budget 2010 – Whanau Ora launches with $134.3m

Prime Minister John Key today announced that Whanau Ora will receive $134.3 million in funding over the next four years, as Budget 2010 invests in families.

“Whanau Ora is about families taking responsibility for themselves and sorting out their own lives,” Mr Key says.

“Across New Zealand, thousands of families are receiving help from Government agencies for a range of issues. But too often this assistance is uncoordinated, fragmented and simply isn’t getting the results those families want or need.

“Whanau Ora will bring that assistance together, recognise the importance of the family, and encourage that family to take control of its future,” Mr Key says.

The first wave of 20 Whanau Ora providers will be selected through an Expressions of Interest process beginning next month.

Mr Key says Whanau Ora contracts will be focused on results - meaning the providers will be held accountable for what they achieve with Government funding.

“Whanau Ora represents a significant change in how New Zealand delivers assistance to families. I believe this is a change for the better,” Mr Key says.

“This approach demands that families have their own plan. They have to be ambitious themselves – it’s a higher trust model and it has the potential to deliver better results not only for families, but also for taxpayers who are not currently getting the value for money they should be.”

Whanau Ora will be available to all families in need.

ENDS

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