August 04, 2023
Mokopuna Māori Authority need challenged
Māori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa Packer says a policy to shift the bulk of Oranga Tamariki services and funding to a new Mokopuna Māori Authority is what Māori have been demanding for decades.
She says it’s time to devolve care of Maori children in need of protection to hapū and iwi.
“We have those that want to be able to make sure that our mokopuna aren’t continuously being broken, abused and disconnected. To be able to reconnect with their own iwi is the best thing for our mokopuna,” she says.
The policy would end state care of mokopuna Māori and reallocate $1bn of Oranga Tamariki’s $1.5bn funding to the new authority, which would establish a partnership network across hapū, iwi and Māori organisations.
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis says Te Pati Māori’s Mokopuna Māori Authority would double up existing bureaucracy.
He says the Government is already down the track with devolution.
“We are devolving resources and decision making into communities, to Māori communities and that’s the way it should go. I’ve always said I believe our communities our iwi, our hāpu, our Māori providers know how to look after our tai-tamariki, so to build another bureaucracy is just missing the point,” he says.
Government has already devolved some services to Ngāi Tuhoe, Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāi Tahu, and Muriwhenua.