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A Maori manager at Relationships Aotearoa says non-government providers are under attack, especially those who work with the most vulnerable in society.
The government has refused to give further funding to the organisation, which had contacts from the Ministry of Social Development, Justice and the Probation Service to deal with issues like domestic and sexual violence and drug and alcohol abuse.
MSD has identified five other other organisations to deal with its 7000 clients, including 2500 Maori.
Rihi Te Nana, the organisation's strategic advisor for Maori services development, says the government seems to be determined to shape the sector without giving the organisation in it a chance to have their say.
"I think the NGO sector at this time is really under attack and the government strategy seems to be less is more, because it’s not working. This growing group of people who need support therapeutically and in terms of the issues in their lives are getting funded less and less every day," she says.
Rihi Te Nana says none of the services identified by the ministries to take over Relationships Aotearoa clients are Maori, and she hopes some staff will be offered jobs as well to maintain continuity of care.
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