Minister welcomes reports on Whānau Ora

Minister for Whānau Ora Hon Te Ururoa Flavell welcomes the Office of Auditor General’s report on Phase One (2010-2014) of Whānau Ora tabled in Parliament today.

“This report and the Productivity Commission Report released last week affirm the value of taking an innovative public policy approach to supporting families in need, particularly Māori and Pasifika families.”

“Early studies indicate the lives of whānau are improving across a range of critical areas such as education, employment and health. Whānau are taking control of their situations, and planning for the future,” says Mr Flavell.

Since Whānau Ora began in 2010, around 9,400 families have benefitted from whānau-centred service delivery which includes almost 50,000 people.

Whānau Ora is a family-led approach to achieving better outcomes for whānau. As part of its approach, it encourages a range of agencies; such as health, social services, education and economic development; to work together to support the goals of families.

In Phase One the focus was on developing tailored whānau plans for families and establishing provider collectives to implement whānau plans. Whānau Ora navigators play an important role by linking whānau with services and networks to help them to achieve their goals.

“While we are now in Phase Two of Whānau Ora, I welcome the evaluation from the Auditor General’s report on the implementation of Phase One.

Ministers, government departments, commissioning agencies and providers can all take some valuable lessons from the report.”

Significant changes in Phase Two of Whānau Ora include the establishment of three non-government commissioning agencies in June 2014 to devolve contracting for services closer to communities and the establishment of a

Whānau Ora Partnership Group made up of Ministers and Iwi leaders to determine the overarching direction of Whānau Ora.

Mr Flavell says, “The success of Whānau Ora is ultimately determined by whether it improves the lives of New Zealanders.

“I’m looking forward to building on the successes of Whānau Ora in the years to come.”

For more information, go to www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/whanau-ora/