It seems as though the Government is intent on using the investment it has set aside for Whānau Ora to pay itself through its own Government agencies, National’s Whānau Ora spokesperson Jo Hayes says.
“Whānau Ora distributes funds to Commissioning Agencies as they are best placed to assess the needs of their communities and provide support where needed to ensure individuals and whanau can become more self-managing and aspirational.
“Under National Whānau Ora was a successful programme, however it’s becoming increasingly clear the Labour-led Government never had a plan for Whānau Ora and Māori Development as a whole.
“The Government firstly failed to appropriate funds for Whānau Ora in Budget 2018 and didn’t give commissioners the funds they needed to continue with the successful work of the programme.
“After finally announcing investment in Budget 2019, the Government then held back the budgeted funds so again Commissioning Agencies are unable to carry out their work.
“It’s clear the Government doesn’t trust Whānau Ora to do its job, so it’s holding back funds from Commissioning Agencies and spending it on what it thinks will work. This is the opposite of why Whānau Ora was set up.
“Whānau Ora was set up by the previous National Government because we understood that families know their own needs best, and it was important to give them the tools to realise their potential.
“It’s disappointing that yet again, Labour’s Māori caucus isn’t supporting programmes that measurably improve outcomes for Māori and has let this fall by the wayside when they should be delivering for their communities.
“Labour should let Whānau Ora get on with its job rather than claim to be the expert on individual issues. This Labour-led Government is failing to deliver for Māori.”
