News Jaya

Whanau Ora

So, the Whanau Ora report is out [PDF], after being in the hands of the government since February. The Government has said that many of the recommendations in the report will be disregarded - then appointed three members of the Whanau Ora Task Force that wrote the report that has these disregarded recommendations onto the governance board of the trust that is to run Whanau Ora. They`ll report to the Whanau Ora minister, Tariana Turia.

There is nothing in the report that states how much Whanau Ora will cost, other than stating that it will be funded by existing budgets of the ministries of Maori Development, Social Development and Health - whose three chief executives are also on the six member board. There is nothing in the report - or anywhere else - to indicate who will administer contracted services,how those administering the services apply to do so, what the expected outcomes will be, or what accountability mechanisms will be in place to ensure that government money is wisely and efficiently reallocated.

Bill English says that Whanau Ora is based on the idea that, with a little help, people can sort out their own lives. In reality it appears to be based on private providers in a race to get some contracts to tell others how to sort out their lives. Will the same amount of money be spread around more people?