May 07, 2015
Whanau Ora go to for mainstream agencies
Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox says Whanau Ora is proving its worth.
A report from the Audit Office raised concerns about the amount spent on administration over the first four years, and the fact many of the government agencies involved don’t seem to have a clear idea what the policy aims to do.
Ms Fox says it was inevitable money needed to be spent in the start up phase building up infrastructure.
She says many of the problems identified in the report are historic, and the policy has moved on under the direction of independent commissioning agencies.
It is now accepted as a vital part of the social services.
"When MSD can’t do it right, when WINZ can't do it right. When CYFS can't do it right, who do they ring? They ring Whanau Ora and they ring navigators to work with whanau they have been unsuccessful with, so if we are the go to, why are we not getting the lion's share of the funding to support social services. That is my question," Ms Fox says.
She says more than 45,000 New Zealanders have benefited from assistance through Whanau Ora.
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