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The chief executive of South Island whānau ora commissioning agency Te Pūtahitanga is concerned government agencies are using the Wellbeing Budget to rebuild themselves rather than strengthen communities and whānau.
Helen Leahy says announcements in advance of today's Wellbeing Budget pointed to some significant catch up funding, including another 263 new frontline workers for Work and Income and 175 staff for the new youth transition programme.
She wants to see similar boosts for whānau ora navigators and whānau transformation.
"There's a lot of focus on head office Wellington and building up the system, and what we really want to see is where do whānau sit? Where do we see direct support to whānau to enable them to help themselves," Ms Leahy says.
The appointment of former Ngāi Tahu kaiwhakahaere Sir Mark Solomon as chair of Te Pūtahitanga's iwi governance board can be seen as extremely positive given his ability to gain the respect of ministers and government agencies.
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