May 06, 2015
Iwi chairs defend Whanau Ora
Iwi Chairs meeting at Whangaehu near Whanganui have slammed Maori MPs who criticised Whanau Ora in the wake of an Audit Office report on the first four years of the policy.
Ngapuhi chair Sonny Tau, who heads the Whanau Ora Partnership Group, says while the report includes some criticism, it also offers advice for improvement.
He says the problems identified were mainly about the engagement of crown agencies rather than Maori providers and whanau.
Maori need to have faith in their own answers and to be proud of the gains already made from whanau becoming self-managing.
Mr Tau says the core Whanau Ora idea of looking for solutions based on the aspirations of whanau is comparable to other break-through moments in Maori history such as the establishment of momentum of Kohanga Reo and Kura Kaupapa, Iwi Radio and Maori Television.
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