MEDIA RELEASE – For Immediate Release

1 February 2012 5.15pm

Te Puni Kōkiri – Business as Usual

As part of a series of updates to Ministry staff that began in October last year, Leith Comer (Chief Executive, Te Puni Kōkiri) took some time out today to share with staff at Te Puni Kōkiri, with broadcasts out to the regions, some early thinking about the direction of the organisation, its priorities, and how Te Puni Kōkiri can operate in a fiscally constrained environment.

Mr Comer says “2012 is a year for review and change as improvements throughout the public sector are rolled out to create better public service delivery to all New Zealanders. Te Puni Kōkiri will be asked to focus on kaupapa that we know are real – education; employment and training; housing; the environment; and, strengthening our Whānau Ora response.

“Staff were advised today that we need to do all of this with fewer resources. It is possible that changes across the public sector will result in agencies working together in clusters to ensure a more joint approach to responding to Government priorities.

“We know – better than anyone else in the state sector – the pulse of Māori communities. I would prefer that Te Puni Kōkiri operate at the centre of this Government drive, not in any one particular cluster, and ensure that there is greater effectiveness for Māori from all parts of the State Sector.

“How we will organise ourselves, and operate, will be the subject of discussions over the next few months. There were no restructuring announcements made today. No redundancies made. And no closures of regional offices.”
ends

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