20 August 2003
Te Puni Kokiri Chief executive Leith Comer said today that work was being undertaken at the Ministry regarding how Te
Puni Kokiri could improve its ability to accelerate Maori development by 'strengthening the regions'.
We have a project underway called Strengthening the Regions. This project considers how our regional offices work and
what if any changes may be necessary to have our regional network work better to serve our Ministry's goal of
accelerating Maori Development," said Mr Comer.
In responding to speculation regarding a pending restructure, Mr Comer said: "Yes we want to work as efficiently and
effectively as possible, yes we want our regional offices to play a major role in the Ministry's work, and yes we are
considering how best to acheive that."
He emphasised however, that consideration of the matter was still in its developmental stages. He said that consultants
were reviewing the work TPK had done to date on the matter and at the end of that process and in conjunction with SSC
findings (resulting from a separate review) TPK would be in a position to consider the best way forward later this year.
Mr Comer said that like most departments and ministries Te Puni Kokiri was constantly looking at ways to work better,
but that he did not consider it appropriate to have such discussions in public. He said he wanted to ensure Te Puni
Kokiri staff were informed every step of the way and said that staff would be fully consulted on any future proposals.
Ends