Labour will strengthen the oversight of Whānau Ora and provide an extra $20 million over four years to improve outcomes for whānau and families, says Labour’s Deputy Leader Kelvin Davis.
“We’ve created a new position of Whānau Ora Reviewer to enable better outcomes for whānau and ensure improved access to Whānau Ora services.
“The independent Whānau Ora Reviewer will be responsible to Parliament and have wide scope to ensure Government agencies are delivering the most effective Whānau Ora based services, that they’re funded to deliver. The reviewer will also make sure excellent Whānau Ora delivery is recognised.
“We’ve doubled the additional funding provided in Budget 2017 by providing an extra $20 million over four years. We want to better resource the service by implementing a comprehensive review of the way Whānau Ora is delivered, then consider further funding as resources allow.
“The review will assess the social return on investment, ensure transparency, determine measurable outcomes, and best practise monitoring and evaluation. We will also support Whānau Ora and community non-government organisations to work together to uplift the wellbeing of their families and communities without competing against each other.
“We believe the delivery of Whānau Ora needs a much better coordinated approach across Government so we make the most of opportunities to really make a difference to whanau and families wellbeing,” says Kelvin Davis.
The trick must be to attempt to blur the lines between recipient and manager in all areas where the Government makes a contribution to or becomes responsible for a member of the community.
Education, corrections, health and social welfare of all sorts, all should be seen as a collaboration, with all sides respected and invited to contribute. The goal is to achieve responsibility and investment in both input and outcomes from all sides. Too often neither the support agency nor the “beneficiary” of largess have any buy-in to either the methods or the goals of intervention.
Whanau Ora, if all power isn’t captured by the provider – whatever his or her ethnic affiliation, can provide an infrastructural framework for the provision of responsive services for all sections of the community: not exclusively for Maori.
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