June 20, 2019
Short term DOC for Hippolite
Outgoing Te Puni Kōkiri chief executive Michelle Hippolite says the Department of Conservation could set an example to the rest of the public service in working with Māori.
Ms Hippolite is heading for DOC in August to serve as acting deputy director general kaupapa atawhai, a role previously held by Tata Lawton.
Before heading the Māori ministry she worked at the national museum Te Papa Tongarewa.
She's impressed with what she has seen at the department and how director general Lou Sanson is trying to improve interactions with whānau, hapū and iwi.
"Because they've got a few tools inside the conservation world I reckon it could be one of the exemplary agencies that takes Māori development and the Treaty (of Waitangi) into the core business of the agency," Ms Hippolite says.
It's a short term posting, and she's keen to support other parts of government to lift their performance in relating to whānau.
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