July 01, 2016
Whanau Ora attack irks Fox
Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox is rejecting claims by Labour’s Whanau Ora spokesperson that MPs and the public are being left in the dark about its outcomes.
Nanaia Mahuta says despite the millions of dollars going in to it, Te Puni Kokiri hasn't developed a framework to measure the programme’s success or the way commissioning agencies do their job.
Ms Fox says everyone who works in whanau ora can attest to the change it is making in the lives of whanau, and Labour is stirring.
"Definitely it is all the political and not the critical because actually Whanau Ora has been the most widely reviewed and investigated piece of funding or programme in parliament than any other and there is wide ranging that shows it absolutely does work," she says.
John Tamihere, the chief executive of the North Island whanau Ora commissioning agency Te Pou Matakana, says the full Labour caucus was briefed last August by Te Pou Matakana chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait and himself, and Ms Mahuta was given a separate three-hour briefing in April.
He says Te Pou Matakana provides quarterly and annual reports on its commissioning practices to Te Puni Kokiri, a quarterly report to the Iwi leaders Group, and bimonthly reports to relevant ministers.
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