Waikato-Tainui: New Ways Needed to Lift People Out of Poverty

Around 100 of the Waikato region’s most senior leaders from the public and private sectors gathered at the Novotel Tainui this evening to hear Waikato-Tainui Te Arataura Chair Tukoroirangi Morgan outline his tribe’s plans to address decades of poverty and underachievement.

“We must find ways to work together, to literally and figuratively tear down the silos and work collaboratively and cooperatively to deliver better outcomes for Maaori,” said Tukoroirangi Morgan.

“The message I bring to you from the people of Waikato-Tainui is simple: ‘work with us.’ Because let me be very clear: The system has failed us. I am heartened by your attendance here tonight and confident that, as partners we will create a healthy, prosperous and positive future for all the people who choose to live in the Waikato.

“Poor health, substandard housing, overcrowded living conditions, educational underachievement, high rates of imprisonment. These have been our lot for successive generations,” said Mr Morgan.

“The system has consistently failed Maaori. One-size-fits-all policies developed in Wellington, short-term funding, inadequate resourcing and silo mentalities have seen our people face the same issues that were identified 27 years ago in Sir Robert Mahuta’s ground-breaking Tainui Report.”

More than 100 chairmen, chief executives and general managers from around the region and across all sectors gathered to hear how Waikato-Tainui intends to operationalise its inter-generational plans, Whakatupuranga 2050, into meaningful and effective support at the grass roots.

“Our goal is to build and strengthen relationships with and between tribal service providers, Maaori providers, mainstream providers, government agencies and Marae clusters.

“Waikato-Tainui will build two Whaanau Ora centres that will bring all the social service agencies and providers together under one korowai (umbrella).

“This is the Waikato-Tainui way – that we care for all who choose to live in our region, regardless of whakapapa. We have an inter-generational commitment and custodial responsibility for the care and protection of all those who reside in our tribal rohe. It is a whaanau-centred approach that will be supported by Marae Clusters working on the ground to assess need and deliver the appropriate support to ensure our people flourish.

“The dramatic economic transformation of this tribe – our property investment and development, fishing quota, forestry and farming – provides the impetus for the social transformation of our tribe. To turn around the negative statistics that have plagued our people since the Raupatu of the 1860s.

ENDS

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