MP for Waiariki and Te Paati Maori Co-leader, Rawiri Waititi has adopted a “Whanau Ora approach to addressing the Whakatāne Mill closure.”

Upon hearing of the Mill’s impending closure, Waititi called upon all key stakeholders in the Whakatāne region to attend a collective hui to “understand how the different pieces of the puzzle are working and how we can all work together within our respective work streams to ensure our whanau have all the support available to them” said the Māori Party Co-leader.

“As soon as I heard about the potential closure, it made sense to invite everyone to the table. It’s the only way we can succeed – by working together.”

“Our meetings have been occurring weekly and are well attended by the likes of Whakatāne Mayor Judy Taylor, Hon. Kiritapu Allan, council and union representatives. These hui provide a forum for a collaborative, solution-focussed korero that is truly whanau-centred.

“The mill closure is a huge blow for Whakatāne. All 210 staff to be made redundant have families; they have partners, children, grandchildren and so the impact of this closure will be wide reaching.”

“Whakatāne is still recovering from the impact of the Whakaari eruption and more recently, Apanui School burning down and now this – Whakatāne has quite literally been through the wars.”

“There has been talk about the establishment of a transition programme; bringing relevant agencies and organisations together to work with all individuals with relation to their specific needs and aspirations. Things like financial literacy, transition into other employment or training, CV support, upskilling in licensing, counselling support.”

“Now, we need to be proactive. Putting politics and egos aside to work together over the next two and a half months to release as much pressure as possible from our whanau whilst supporting them towards tangible solutions and pathways.”

“I will be deploying my team to support the coordination of these efforts and will ensure from my end that all relevant agencies in the region are going above and beyond to take care of our people” said the MP for Waiariki.

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