Speech
Address to Auckland Maori Accountants Network
PricewaterhouseCoopers Tower, Auckland
Delivered by Di Grennell on behalf of Minister Turia
I am delighted to join with the Auckland Maori Accountants Network to share together, the excitement associated with
Whanau Ora.
Firstly I acknowledge with the greatest respect, your kaumatua Phil Tane, and your Chairman, Joe Hanita, who have
between them provided such strong leadership and clarity of vision in establishing a pathway for Nga Kaitatau Maori o
Tamaki Makaurau.
I am greatly heartened by the direction that has been articulated by the National Maori Accountants Network, to focus on
sustainability and the creation of strategies which will secure Maori economies, Maori communities, for the future.
I understand that less than 2% of the 30,000 strong membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants are Maori – and
so it is really positive that the Nga Kaitatau network is available to create the opportunities for you to share
experiences and knowledge in a supportive forum.
But there is another reason why I believe Nga Kaitatau Maori provides such an important source of support for Maori
accountants, and that is because of the expertise you can bring to bear, in helping us to accurately measure and reflect
the added value we might expect of Whanau Ora.
Before I talk more specifically about Whanau Ora, I want to share some of the thinking I have been influenced by,
through the inspiration and guidance of one of your accountancy legends, Professor Emeritus Whatarangi Winiata.
There used to be a myth portrayed that an accountant is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of
nothing.
Matua Whatarangi has slowly but surely decimated that myth, in works such as ‘Hapu and Iwi Resources and their
Quantification’ – his submission to the Royal Commission on Social Policy in 1988; or more recently, ‘Accounting and
Reporting for Hapu’ – a paper for Te Pa Harakeke, Te Wananga o Raukawa, in 2004. But it is a paper that he tabled just a
week ago, that has particularly inspired me today, and that was entitled Maori management of tino rangatiratanga.
In this paper, Matua reported on the scope of activity that suggests that Maori are determined to survive as a people.
He concluded that these activities represent a desire to maximise their prospects of remaining a distinctive and
identifiable part of the global cultural mosaic.
One of the key ideas Matua expressed took account of the value of ropu tuku iho, whanau, hapu and iwi – inherited roopu
based in whakapapa. The paper defined these roopu as sharing the following characteristics: - The members of each have a
common tupuna; - Each has a takiwa – geographical region; - Each has a network of whanau/hapu/marae; - Each is
recognised by its neighbours, particularly other ropu tuku iho; - And each has members who have a deep concern for the
maintenance and enhancement of the mana of their ropu – that is mana-a-whanau; mana-a-hapu or mana-a-iwi.
In essence, the continuing existence of some 1300 operating marae with their associated whanau and iwi is evidence of
survival maximising behaviour.
I want to build on the platform laid by Matua Whatarangi, to share some of our thinking about the survival maximising
behaviour we anticipate will be seen with Whanau Ora.
Last week’s announcement of the selected 25 providers/collectives signalled our move to the next phase of the
implementation of Whānau Ora. It has brought us all one step closer to transforming our approach for the benefit of many
thousands of whānau across Aotearoa – and so the timing of today’s event is perfect.
Throughout the selection process, I was blown away by the impressive array of organisations that came together in the
spirit of collaboration; committed to working together with whānau for sustainable whānau-based outcomes.
Even to a layperson’s eye, the numbers were pretty exciting – some 130 proposals representing the combined efforts of
347 providers.
What that means, is that across the ten regional areas identified for the Whānau Ora process, 25 providers / collectives
representing 158 providers across the country have been identified to move through to the next stage of developing a
Programme of Action.
Tamaki Makaurau has done particularly well.
Successful provider collectives include:
- Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board; comprising Ngati Whatua o Orakei Corporate Ltd; Ngati Whatua o Orakei Health
Services; Ngati Whatua o Orakei Social Services; Ngati Whatua o Orakei Marae committee; Orakei Marae Social and Health
Services
- Kotahitanga Roopu including Turuki Health Care Trust; Te Kaha o te Rangatahi Trust; Huakina Development Trust and
Papakura Marae Trust
- National Urban Maori Authority, including Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust; Manukau Urban Maori Authority; National Urban
Maori Authority and Te Runanga o Kirikiriroa
- The Alliance Health PHO including Te Pasefika Health Trust; Tongan Health Society; Auckpac Health Trust Board; Health
Star Pacific Trust and Penina Health Trust;
- and the Pacific Island Safety and Prevention Project
So what does all this mean for Auckland Maori Accountants?
The Taskforce on Whanau Centred initiatives identified six goals that suggest what Whanau Ora might look like. They
expect that whanau outcomes will be met when whanau are: - Self managing - Living healthy lifestyles - Participating
fully in society - Confidently participation in Te Ao maori - Economically secure and successful involved in wealth
creation; - Cohesive, resilient and nurturing.
The key is, that Whanau Ora works in a range of ways, influenced by the priorities and the needs that whanau identify
and choose.
But most important of all, Whanau Ora reflects a willingness to look within ourselves; to back ourselves; to trust our
own solutions.
Whanau Ora is about whanau being empowered to know best what their needs are – and to be able to develop a plan for
their future, along with the help of a navigator or a champion.
And so it is only right, that I share with you a view from one of the 25 providers announced last Friday.
Tukoroirangi Morgan, Chair of Te Arataura, the executive board of Waikato-Tainui has described Whanau Ora as a legacy to
our people.
In his own words, he concludes:
We have always taken the view that our traditional tribal structures and cultural values are the foundations upon which
Maaori social and cultural transformation must be built.
Collective strength through unity under one Korowai was a founding principle of the Kiingitanga and the success of the
Koiora Collective is, in one sense, a vindication of that founding belief.
To be one of the successful collectives picked from 130 providers of Whaanau Ora, reinforces the treaty partnership with
Iwi, builds on the co-governance model, and will help us realise the vision contained in our tribal blueprint,
Whakatupuranga 2050, which aims to grow a prosperous, healthy, vibrant, innovative and culturally strong Iwi
If you haven’t already picked it up, one of the most distinctive aspects of Whanau Ora is that it represents an amazing
spirit of cooperation.
I am just so proud that organisations who may traditionally have worked apart from each other, have now joined together
in the desire to focus on the best interests of whanau.
The greatest aspect of Whanau Ora is that provider collectives are working together to create a whanau-centred approach
which will enable our people to flourish.
The focus is on empowering whanau as a whole, rather than separately focusing on individual whanau members – or indeed
on individual problems – housing need, educational under-achievement, unemployment or the like.
Whanau Ora is about doing everything possible to improve the wellbeing and circumstances of whanau, through integrated
service provision where there is a seamless but co-ordinated approach towards meeting all the needs.
Critical to the success of Whanau Ora is what we might call a paradigm shift of providers ‘doing for whanau’ to ‘whanau
doing it for themselves’. The overwhelming emphasis is expressed in the knowledge that whanau know best what their own
solutions are.
I have often referred to Whanau Ora as a model of transformation, and yet it is a transformation based on ways of being
which are already well established, credible and universally practised.
Whanau Ora enables us to draw on Māori values, beliefs, obligations and responsibilities as a source of expert advice to
guide whānau in their day-to-day lives.
It is about enabling all whanau to have chances in life to reach new heights; to be confident in their capacity to
undertake the functions of life that are necessary for healthy living; to believe in their own potential.
It is – at its most simplest expression – adherence to the basic truth that whanau know best what their needs are.
I have to say, I was so pleased to know of the interest from this esteemed body, about Whanau Ora. And I know that a
natural corollary of your interest in Whanau Ora will be the question – how can we be involved?
I am of the view that one of the most exciting aspects of this approach is that it is possibly one of the first times
that Government has attempted to measure value for money against a cultural construct.
As part of our approach we are promoting action research, to provide the means why which whanau can gather their own
evidence about the key indicators of their own success.
But we are also really interested in any ideas you may have around how best to ascertain the true value of what Matua
Whatarangi best describes as survival maximising behaviour.
I want to thank you, again, for your interest in Whanau Ora, and I look forward to our ongoing conversations about a
model of transformation which will dramatically impact on the health and wellbeing of our whanau and indeed our nation.
Tena tatou katoa.