The founder of Whānau Ora, Hon Dame Tariana Turia, is happy with the final report from the review panel into Whānau Ora, Tipu Matoro ki te Ao.

“The report says in unequivocal terms that Whānau Ora, as delivered through a commissioning approach, has resulted in positive change – and that most importantly, whānau themselves have been instrumental in driving their own change”.

“Ten years ago we dreamed the dream – that whānau could be enabled to be the architects of the change they saw fit, to shift from crisis to aspiration.

“The report reinforces that providing support in ‘moments that matter’; investing in ‘relational contracting in which real value is attributed to the relationship between the Commissioning Agency, its partners and whānau is making a difference; and most of all that focusing on the strengths of whānau allows them to both build resilience and capability”.

“In the 2009 report from Professor Sir Mason Durie, that Taskforce was clear that placing faith in our families, demonstrating a ‘Māori heart’ was fundamental to enduring change. What is utterly disappointing, however, is that the strong recommendation made a decade ago for government to commit to Whānau Ora appears to have had little take-up.

“I wonder, when will we get over ourselves?” asked Dame Tariana. “Whānau Ora is not ‘co-designed’ in Lambton Quay, created in corporate board rooms, or written up in programmes for service delivery. This is not about provider ora. The real leadership in Whānau Ora comes from whānau themselves. My hope is we don’t have to wait another decade for government to finally invest in Whānau Ora”.

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