May 24, 2022
Wāhine and rangatahi get leadership training
Māori Development Minister Willie Jackson says investment in wahine and rangatahi is an investment in New Zealand’s economic security.
There’s $28.5 million in Budget 2022 or programmes to strengthen whānau resilience through developing leadership in whānau leaders, wāhine and rangatahi Māori.
Mr Jackson says those groups have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
While 17 per cent of all New Zealand women are wāhine Māori, they are over-represented negatively in areas including employment, education and training, and incarceration.
Rangatahi makes up half the current Māori population.
Programmes to be supported over the next two years include:
Pae Aronui, which tests innovative approaches to improving education, training and employment outcomes for Māori 15–24-year-olds that are not in education, employment or training;
Taiohi Ararau which supports young Māori to get essential documents like their driver’s licence and IRD number;
And Rangatahi Manawaroa, formerly the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Fund, invests in projects which improve rangatahi resilience, leadership, and wellbeing.