Rural Northlanders will soon be able to benefit from new initiatives that will help those in isolated communities learn to drive and pass their license test.

Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has joined with the Ngātiwai Trust Board, Te Iwi o Te Roroa, and Te Whai Community Trust to support isolated whānau with marae-based learning, driver mentoring, and wānanga.

MSD’s Northland Regional Commissioner Graham MacPherson says having a driver license can increase your chances of finding work.

“A big portion of our community can’t access driving lessons or testing. It’s a very expensive and stressful ordeal for some,” MacPherson says.

“These courses will help ensure that all Northlanders have equal access to driver licencing services, getting more people on the road to success.”

Raukura CEO of Ngātiwai Trust Board, Huhana Lyndon, says they are looking forward to providing their services to rural Māori communities.

“The Life Skills Waka programme will be delivered in our kāinga and on our marae of Te Akau Roa o Ngātiwai (the long coast of Ngātiwai).

“Our trained mentors will deliver wananga across initially six Ngātiwai marae.”

“We need a different approach to licensing in rural Māori communities. Our kaupapa is about taking licensing to our people, empowering participation, and enabling our whānau to prepare and pass their driver’s test. We are excited about the opportunity to extend this programme onto other marae along the coast.”

General Manager of Te Roroa, Snow Tane, says they will be focusing on whānau in rural areas in the Kaipara, including Waipoua, Trouson and Waimamaku where access to driver mentoring is severely restricted.

“We are looking forward to providing a mobile service that will take driver mentoring out to the isolated communities and marae.”

Te Whai Community Trust’s existing Drive Safe Community programme in Mangawhai has been strengthened to ensure the licencing fees and cost of travel to urban settings for practice are not passed on to participants.

Funding for the three new iwi initiatives comes from the $86.5 million announced in Budget 2022 to improve access to driver licensing testing and training across Aotearoa.

The new initiatives will add to the existing programmes being offered by community organisations to ensure equity and accessibility to driver licencing in Northland.

MacPherson says results from the last three months of 2022 are a promising indication of what is to come.

“We’re already seeing great things in Te Hiku with Far North REAP, which has teamed up with community providers and police officers to train more than 120 whānau through their licencing courses, which have a 98 per cent success rate when it comes to getting a driver licence.

“We’re looking forward to the rollout of these new iwi initiatives and community licencing hubs in the coming months.”

The Ngātiwai and Te Whai Community Trust programmes have begun, while the Te Roroa programme is expected to get underway in February.

Anyone who wants to take part can visit a local service centre for more information or contact Northland_Jobs@msd.govt.nz

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