Speech: Turia - Māori Mai, Māori Atu Hui-a-Tau 2012
Hon Tariana Turia
Associate
Minister of Health
Thursday 15 November
2012
SPEECH
Māori Mai,
Māori Atu Hui-a-Tau 2012
Novotel
Hotel, Tutanekai Street, Rotorua
[Delivered on behalf of the Minister by Te Orohi Paul]
“Kia Takoto Te Manuka” – Is Whānau Ora Working for you?”
E ngā mana, e ngā
reo, e ngā tini karangatanga ki runga i a koutou, tēnā
tātou katoa.
Te tuatahi. E koro, e te matua, Rawiri Te
Whare, kua takahia te ara whānui a Tāne. Haere, haere,
haere atu rā e koro, okioki ai ki waenga i ngā matua
tipuna.
E te hunga ora, tēnā anō koutou
katoa.
Ngā Ngaru Hauora o Aotearoa and Te Roopu Mate
Huka o Aotearoa – thank you for inviting me to speak
today.
I want
to acknowledge the tremendous amount of work both your
organisations are undertaking to ensure that our people get
the best support they can to improve their health and
well-being.
This
hui occurs, of course, in the shadow of the loss of one of
the great leaders of Te Arawa, Rāwiri Te Whare. It is
particularly poignant, as we consider the challenge before
us, to think of the impact that diabetes played on his
well-being and his early passing.
Over this week there
have been numerous stories relayed about his achievements,
particularly recognising his leadership in advancing the
Central North Island forestry and land settlements.
But
as he lay at Ohaaki Marae, there was one tribute that really
stood out. His daughter, Deanna McCormack, expressed the
grief of her whānau:
He was just the most lovely,
honest, hard-working Dad, koro and husband - he's going to
be missed. We all lived in the same street, it's going to be
hard for all of us. We used to see him going home, the kids
would run up to see him”
It is a story which
resonates with Whānau Ora – the memory of a man whom the
mokopuna clung to; a man who was the centre of gravity for
all the whānau around him.
And it reminded me, again,
how precious the gift of life is; how our greatest
achievements are found in the hearts of those who will keep
our memories alive for the generations to come.
It is
vital that each of us make magic memories; that each of us
appreciate the difference we can make in our everyday
influence of those closest and dearest – that is Whānau
Ora in practice.
To those who have come here today to
share their stories, learn from each other and leave the hui
more enriched, I congratulate you on the commitment you are
making to ensure a better pathway for your
futures.
We are
now in our second year of Whānau Ora and I have to say I
have been heartened by the enthusiasm of our communities,
our health providers, and in particular those whanau who
have taken up the challenge – kia takoto te
manuka.
It is not
easy to take a break out of ‘te ao hurihuri’ – to stop
and reflect and wonder what could we do
better?
As
whānau, you have taken up that challenge to work in a
collaborative way to bring families together and to build
your own capacity.
While health organisations, Māori
providers and government agencies are part of Whānau Ora to
assist us in our plans - the ultimate goal is that our
families will become independent from the state, with their
goals and plans for the future.
I
can’t emphasise enough the importance of whānau working
for their future.
Successful families are families who
work together for the better of everyone in the family. The
importance of building capability so whānau can identify
and address their own priorities is the point I particularly
want to make.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that
health services can stop doing their jobs. But more
importantly, it means re-orientating our focus to place
whānau in the driving seat. And I know that you are here
today because you believe in whānau.
One of the
biggest challenges in implementing Whānau Ora is keeping
the focus on whānau and making sure things don’t get tied
up in bureaucratic processes. We are building provider
capacity and capability but need to find innovative ways of
building whānau capability.
It is important that those
working directly with whānau understand they are not there
to ‘fix up’ whānau, but rather that they are there to
make sure whānau can access the range of support they need
to find their own solutions.
Whānau Ora heralds a
transformation of our own futures by taking control of our
lives. This transformation is not just grounded in optimism
- it is pragmatic, meaningful to each whānau, and firmly
driven by outcomes.
I want to commend the vision of the
original Whānau Ora Taskforce, championed by Professor Sir
Mason Durie.
The vision laid out in their 2010 report
bears repeating, until we know it off by heart. That
report talked about a focus on outcomes: that whānau will
be self-managing; living healthy lifestyles; participating
fully in society; confidently participating in te ao Māori,
economically secure and successfully involved in wealth
creation; and cohesive, resilient and
nurturing.
There’s a lot there – and it will be great
to see over these next two days whether the kōrero around
Whānau Ora focuses on the width and breadth of all of these
aspirations.
It certainly reinforces to me, there is
nothing like a tickbox, checklist that we can apply against
Whānau Ora – the only ones that can really tell us
whether Whānau Ora is working are whānau
themselves.
Healing and addressing health and wellbeing
issues for Māori whānau starts with the whānau making
informed decisions. This requires that individuals and
their whanau are placed at the centre of an inter-connected
approach to healthcare.
What we know is that Whānau Ora
is growing and evolving on a huge scale.
For those who
like the numbers – there are now some thirty-four Whānau
Ora collectives, involving more than 180 health and social
service providers from throughout the country. That’s 3000
whānau including 33,000 individuals who have put together
whānau plans through the Whānau Integration, Innovation
and Engagement Fund.
But alongside the quantitative,
we absolutely need the qualitative stories to keep us
inspired and uplifted; to remember what it is all
about.
And that’s why I want to really congratulate Nga
Ngaru Hauora and Te Roopu Mate Huka o Aotearoa, for your
initiative in bringing together Māori providers, whānau,
hapū , iwi, koeke, nurses and tauira to share and compare;
to dream and to debate; to help unpack the journey that you
each have had in pursuing Whānau Ora.
In itself, the
range of players in Whānau Ora – the diversity of your
lives and your aspirations – is one of the greatest
strengths. Importantly, it is the sum total of your
combined efforts that will really embed the approach of
Whānau Ora in the most enduring way.
Providers are
working together as a collective to transform the way they
deliver services. Collectives develop and refine their
approach to ensure that they meet the needs of the whānau
they serve.
For instance, Te Wai Pounamu Whānau Ora
Collective is developing six hub sites across the South
Island. Over time, each hub will develop services that
reflect the individual needs of whānau within their
particular communities.
What we hope, also, is that
the approach being demonstrated so strongly within and
across our whānau will also have an impact on the way
government agencies deliver their services.
As an
example, the new Diabetes Care Improvement Packages, are a
way for DHBs and primary care networks to work together to
identify cardiovascular disease and diabetes sooner.
It
is expected that these ‘packages of care’ will enable
innovation in service delivery and more focused activity to
assist whānau to better manage these conditions – and
should build on the good practice already provided. I
look forward to your feedback to see whether they are
delivered in ways which are whole-of-family orientated –
which take into account the bigger picture.
Finally, I
want to encourage you all to really believe that your
feedback matters – it matters to me; it matters to
Government; but most of all it matters to the world our
mokopuna will inherit.
Your stories make up the amazingly
rich tapestry of experience that will in itself be our
greatest legacy. You are learning, you are listening; you
are leading an exciting pathway ahead – and we will all be
stronger for hearing your stories.
One of the challenges,
however, is communicating the good stories of whānau change
without breaching the privacy of the whānau concerned.
Deep change processes take time, and there are ups and downs
for every whānau. Whānau stories are often moving and
exciting, but it is important that the sharing of these
stories does not expose whānau to public scrutiny and
criticism.
And when we’re talking 33,000 individuals
who have put together whānau plans – there’s every
likelihood that there will be a few who suffer the glare of
the political spotlight. But we must not become
disheartened, we must not allow any barriers to get in our
way.
An independent evaluation Te Puni Kōkiri
commissioned on the impact of the so-called WIIE Fund (the
Whānau Integration, Innovation and Engagement Fund) found
that the bringing whānau together, backed up by good
quality facilitation, is transformative in itself.
This
is a really positive indication of the impact that the fund
is having but gathering a stronger evidence base will be a
priority for the fund, and the wider Whānau Ora effort,
going forward. And your stories today are an important
part of that – building and creating our own histories;
shaping the public perceptions of Whānau Ora in a way that
reflects the experience we are having.
I’m confident
we’re making progress towards a better way of life for our
people. Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui.
ENDS