May 18, 2015
Maori words not enough for children’s welfare
The Maori Women’s Welfare League is still waiting to hear from the government about its challenge to the composition of a panel reviewing the Child, Youth and Family service.
President Prue Kapua says with more that half the children in care being Maori, it’s an outrage there are no Maori on the panel, chaired by former Commerce Commission head Paula Rebstock.
It does include former Maori Party chief of staff Helen Leahy, but Ms Kapua says there’s no way Ms Leahy would claim to be an expert in tikanga Maori.
She says Minister Anne Tolley talks about getting better outcomes for clients and Maori, but the team she has picked makes that sound like lip service.
"There has been a recognition for a long time. We’ve had Te Whare Tapa Wha. We’ve had Te Wheke. We’ve got the Tu Tuia models. It’s all very well to use the Maori words but you have to do it with some meaning and to do that you actually have to have the people with the skills. It’s not enough to use the words or to sit and independently look at it from the outside. You have to live it and be part of it," she says.
Ms Kapua says she wrote to Minister Tolley when the panel was announced last month but has still heard nothing.
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