OPINION
The old proverb “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” immediately springs to mind when I hear the Whānau Ora commissioning agencies’ contracts are up for retender.
This materialised over the past week without warning or discussion, and as I understand it, the Minister for Whānau Ora, Tama Potaka, was also caught off-guard.
The Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency was established as Te Pou Matakana in 2014 to deliver wraparound, whānau-centric support services for the betterment and wellbeing of our communities. It allows whānau to develop their own solutions, as well as build their capacity and resilience to become self-managing.
This is achieved through direct investment and commissioning initiatives with Whānau Ora partners who work with whānau to plan and achieve their short-, medium- and long-term aspirations.
On May 30 this year the coalition Government maintained Whānau Ora’s budget, confirming its work would continue until 2027.
Normally if there is a policy shift two things can happen: either there is a consultation process or it’s part of a clear strategy that was outlined in a coalition agreement everyone was acquainted with. Neither of these two things have occurred.
Partnership requires goodwill, transparency and honesty. However, if that transparency and honesty is only on one side of the table, the other side is at a disadvantage. David Samuels and Grace Smit from Te Puni Kōkiri are public servants who know what is going on, and they need to front up to inform the rest of us.
Whānau Ora has been working with partners for 10 years running a social-value impact model that allows them greater capacity and allows people to spend their money in their communities, with their communities, based not on what bureaucrats say but on clear evidence, through what is happening.
Ownership of the Whānau Ora network is 76 per cent iwi, and 24 per cent is owned by mātāwaka groups such as MUMA (Manukau Urban Māori Authority), Te Whānau o Waipareira in West Auckland and Te Kōhao Health in Hamilton.
In February 2019 the Labour Government ordered an inquiry into Whānau Ora, which resulted in the Whānau Ora Review Report – Tipu Mātoro ki Te Ao. The Whānau Ora Review Panel members met with 184 whānau, 74 partners and providers, 104 Whānau Ora Navigators, 19 whānau entities, and 126 government agencies at 19 locations throughout the country. Their extensive review found many examples of the positive change created by Whānau Ora, with people’s lives being turned around as a result of Whānau Ora’s approach, and demonstrated the potential for whānau-centred approaches to be implemented right across government.
Whānau Ora has passed every financial audit in the past five years – which are signed off by KPMG – and is regularly audited by Te Puni Kōkiri. It has been investigated by the Auditor-General and he reported that Whānau Ora achieved 100% of its key performance indicators consequent upon his review.
These reviews are done not on money but on the quality of their programmes around the country. No other provider or similar agency has had the same staggering results Whānau Ora has had with its hugely successful Covid response, vaccination rollouts and last year’s Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding support, which still continues today. Whānau Ora is internationally recognised by Social Value International for its whānau-centric approach with proven, successful outcomes.
Whānau Ora is model for Māori success that should be replicated across all of government. We need certainty of its future.
The Minister for Whānau Ora needs to provide evidence and a copy of the Government’s policy changes and rationale, then sit down to consult with the board of Whānau Ora. Transparency is needed to understand exactly what is going on with the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency that so many whānau have come to rely on, internally and externally.
How can Tama Potaka rationalise this decision without any consultation? This Government believes it has the democratic mandate to do whatever it likes – with no warning – especially when it comes to Māori rights and wellbeing. It thinks it can remove Māori voices from local government, it thinks it can remove mokopuna Māori from their whānau, and it thinks it can fast-track projects that will destroy our whenua – all without consultation.
A whānau-centric approach has been very successful in breaking cycles of inequity that have plagued our people for generations. Whānau Ora stands as a model that has consistently demonstrated the highest social return on investment. Despite Whānau Ora’s proven effectiveness, the Government fails to provide any viable alternative model and instead continues to pursue a narrow-minded, anti-Māori agenda.
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-NZ Herald