Whanau development and literacy
Tariana Turia Speech to regional whanau development hui, Far North Community Centre, Kaitaia, 9am
[Mihi]
Our kaupapa today is whanau development – which is closely linked to mana, tikanga, our identity and status as tangata
whenua, and our place in the world.
It also happens to be International Literacy Day. I want to talk briefly about literacy, and how it links to whanau
development.
For most people, literacy is about reading and writing well enough to hold down a job. Others see literacy as a key to
participating effectively in the wider family and community life of the ‘knowledge economy’. It goes without saying that
we are talking about reading and writing English.
Today, I want to release a report that takes an even wider look at literacy. The Report, called ‘Te Kawai Ora: Reading
the Word, Reading the World, Being the World’, is from the Maori Adult Literacy Working Group. I asked the Working
Group, who are all experts in literacy and education, to give me advice on adult literacy issues.
They advised me that for tangata whenua, literacy means bi-literacy – being able to participate effectively in iwi and
Pakeha worlds.
If tangata whenua cannot participate in our own world, then our reality, our tikanga, our values and culture, our reo –
all these parts of our identity are condemned to die, and our tamariki and mokopuna are doomed to live forever in
someone else’s reality.
If we cannot participate in the Pakeha world, we will not be able to enjoy full rights of citizenship.
So literacy is more than being able to recognise squiggles on a page as words that have meaning. To give meaning to our
words – words like whanau, mana, tikanga, whakapapa, tupuna – you have to be able to ‘read’ our world, to know the
geography of our landscapes, our history and relationships, the carvings and tukutuku in our meeting houses.
As the report says: ‘Literacy is, at its very heart, a pivotal component of nation building. Fully realised, it enables
people to take part in the fullness of the society we live in.’
To me, this is the same as whanau development. Our goal today is to enable people to take part in the fullness of the
society we live in, and this is part of building our nation.
Let me digress for a moment to the seabed and foreshore. I see this debate as a pivotal part of building our nation,
too.
At the heart of the debate is the meaning of words like tangata whenua, tikanga, mana, tupuna, rangatiratanga, rights,
title, ownership, regulation, government.
How can you ‘read’ those words, to give them meaning, unless you understand the reality and world views of tangata
whenua and Pakeha? Through this debate, we learn about each other. The seabed and foreshore debate is promoting
bi-literacy.
When we talk about mana whenua and customary title, ownership and rights, settlements and compensation, we are talking
about people.
It is our whanau and hapu who must be prepared to assert and defend our rights, and to fulfil our duties and
obligations, to each other and to other people.
Rangatiratanga begins at home. That is why we are here today.
Whanau need to be strong so we can achieve our full potential, and the potential of our tamariki and rangatahi.
We need to restore collective responsibilities and obligations. Too many whanau are being isolated, and left to sink or
swim on their own.
Many whanau need to confront serious issues within the whanau, and heal and restore themselves, before they can fully
take control of decisions affecting them.
We must not be judgemental of whanau who are not achieving their potential, instead we should focus on their strengths
and look for ways that we can support and assist.
We must have attitude, the ‘can do attitude’ that will not accept negative behaviours and negative attitudes towards our
people.
To me, your whanau is always your whanau, like it or not. They will always be your business. They will always create
your economic opportunities, and build your social and cultural capital, through their investment decisions.
If your whanau is not working the way you’d like, you can’t simply walk away from it. The challenge is to find ways for
the whanau to strengthen itself and empower all its members.
Identifying problems is easy – finding solutions is necessary.
Ideas on whanau development must grow from our own experience, practices and viewpoints, even if they are different from
others.
By definition, whanau development is something that only whanau can do themselves. It requires our people to take the
initiative. It’s up to you to identify your priorities and work out plans for achieving your goals – and then stick to
them.
Whanau development is a huge challenge. Let me give an example.
When our iwi organisations first started dealing with government agencies, the structure of the government tended to
dictate the structure of the runanga. The iwi social services arm got a funding contract with CYF, which specified how
to deliver care and protection to our children. The Housing arm delivered housing services in accordance with their
contract, the same for the hauora, and so on.
Pretty soon, our runanga were like mini-governments. Because of their contracts, they became accountable to the
government and, like government agencies, the various service providers found it hard to work together in an integrated
way. This was not the plan!
Thank goodness, our whanau and hapu reasserted their authority over their organisations, and held them accountable to
the community. With a strong mandate from the community, iwi organisations were able demand funding contracts that
reflected their needs and circumstances, building on their collective strengths, in accordance with their cultural
values. Te Rarawa is a good example of this. They have negotiated a single contract across the whole of government – but
they had to fight for it.
The government in turn has had to change ingrained behaviours and cultural patterns. Government agencies now must work
together with each other, and with whanau, to support the whanau, not to direct them.
Public servants are having to learn and practice skills in inter-agency co-operation, recognising our people as members
of whanau rather than as individual patients or clients, listening and responding rather than initiating and
controlling.
So we have the Maori Health Strategy, ‘He Korowai Oranga’, which places whanau ora at the centre of public policy. We
have also undertaken a ‘Review of the Centre’ to improve coordination and collaboration among government agencies, and
their ability to contribute to whanau development. The Whanau Development Strategy we are working on today is another
step forward.
One of the longest-running whanau development programmes we have is kohanga reo. I’m sure many of you here have been
involved in kohanga in some way.
Incidentally, kaupapa Maori education, from kohanga through to Wananga, was identified in Te Kawai Ora as a key strategy
for promoting bi-literacy as well.
Right here you also have the Kaitiaia Literacy Pathway, involving a number of schools, co-ordinating and collaborating
to raise our children’s writing skills. I hear that is part of Te Putahitanga Matauranga, a strategy which involves
communities, hapu and iwi organisations right across Northland.
I’m also aware of various hapu and leadership development initiatives associated with the Treaty claims settlement
process, and pilot funding for community development through the Ministry of Social Development in the Hokianga.
I am keen to hear your views about some of these things today. This is a forum for whanau members and community leaders
to exchange ideas, share information, discuss approaches that work, and learn from each other’s experience.
This hui is a chance for YOU to have YOUR say. This is your day.
Na reira, tena koutou.