September 24, 2018
Welfare League takes on Oranga Tamariki
PRUE KAPUA INTERVIEW CLICK HERE
Māori Women’s Welfare League president Prue Kāpua says the league will continue to challenge Oranga Tamariki and other crown agencies to give up some of their power.
The league holds its annual conference in Gisborne this week, with issues like domestic and sexual violence, indigenous data sovereignty and government policy on the agenda.
Ms Kāpua says while there has been disquiet about the league’s political stances, it has a long history of speaking out and the credibility to do so from the work its volunteers do in their communities around the nation.
It needs to stand up for women and their whānau, and taking a shot at the new Ministry for Children is part of that.
"They’re still not reflecting what we want to see and we have still got to keep challenging to make sure that somewhere along the line government agencies come to the realisation they are not the experts on what is good for us. They haven't got it right many, many times in the past. They need to go external, They need to involve all of us, not just the league but a whole number of organisations," he says.
Te Rōpu Wāhine Toko i te Ora’s conference starts with a pōwhiri on Wednesday at Rongopai Marae.
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