“Disappointing” is how Te Pou Matakana Chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait has described today’s budget announcement, which has nothing in it for Whānau Ora. This comes despite the Labour Party when announcing its Whānau Ora policy in 2017, committing to an increase of $20m.

“This government has given us a budget of broken promises and this is disappointing. It’s commitment to whānau, made in 2017, seems to have been forgotten, despite there being a large proportion of Māori MPs and Māori cabinet Ministers,” says Merepeka Raukawa-Tait.

“This Government is well-placed to ensure whānau can flourish. This is an important time for Whānau Ora. For the last four years, we’ve focused on setting a foundation that works for whānau and communities. Building capacity and capability with our partners mean we now have an extensive Whānau Ora network that reaches across Aotearoa into the most vulnerable communities.” says Ms Raukawa-Tait.

“Whānau Ora is now under one of the many reviews being carried out by this government. Te Pou Matakana regularly undergoes financial and operational scrutiny through regular audits by government, PWC and KPMG.”

“We have no problem with this, however all other agencies including State agencies should be under the same level of scrutiny and we have alerted the appropriate Ministers to this in our correspondence with them,” says Ms Raukawa-Tait.

Te Pou Matakana works with over 80 Whānau Ora providers across the North Island that support over 9,000 whānau every year, and these numbers continue to grow.

“Whānau Ora is exceeding targets and as a result whānau are realising outcomes in improved physical and personal health, better standards of living and raising education levels, to name a few. We have reached a place where real change is happening.”

“We have an open invitation to government agencies seeking collaboration, co-design and co-investment from across the sectors as we support whānau to plan and achieve their own success. We are working to overcome state silos and deliver fit-for-purpose services by, for and with whānau. Whānau Ora transforms the lives of whānau because it allows whānau to identify what success is for them. This way whānau are empowered to drive their own success as determined by them,” says Ms Raukawa-Tait.

ENDS

© Scoop Media