Former Whanau Ora minister Dame Tariana Turia is calling for a billion dollars a year in social spending to go through the model she championed.
A $10 million increased in the latest Budget only brings the Whanau Ora total to $44 million a year, although the Ministry of social Development has agreed to channel a small portion of its multi-billion dollar spend through the commissioning agencies.
Dame Tariana told Radio Waatea host Ngaroimata Reid the Government needs to go a lot further if it wants the model of integrated, whanau -driven service delivery to work.
"Drip feeding us small amounts of money and they are small amounts of money in the scheme of things. You think about the health system, $16bn dollars a year they give to them and have they made a difference for us and the answer is no. So give us a break. Restore our mana and allow us to become the authors of our own destiny" , says Dame Tariana Turia
