Whānau Ora (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

for "family health") is a major contemporary indigenous health initiative in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, driven by Māori cultural values. Its core goal is to empower communities and extended families () to support families within the community context rather than individuals within an institutional context.

History and objectives

Whānau Ora evolved out of the coalition between the

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and

parties after the 2008 general election and became a cornerstone of the coalition agreement between them after the 2011 general election.

Te Puni Kōkiri Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK), the Ministry of Māori Development, is the principal policy advisor of the Government of New Zealand on Māori wellbeing and development. Te Puni Kōkiri was established under the Māori Development Act 1991 with responsib ...

, (the Ministry for Māori Development), states that :Whānau Ora is an inclusive approach to providing services and opportunities to whānau across New Zealand. It empowers whānau as a whole, rather than focusing separately on individual whānau members and their problems. The

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

defines Whānau Ora at some length. Prior to the health initiative, ''Whānau Ora'' was the name of the Māori health awards.

Criticism

The programme has been criticised for having hard to define and impossible to measure specific outputs; as well as a disproportionate amount of funding being spent in Turia's electorate. MP

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician serving as the leader of New Zealand First since its foundation in 1993. Peters served as the 13th deputy prime minister of New Zealand from 1996 to 1998 and 2017 to 2020 ...

has been a vocal opponent of the program. The longest-established national Māori health organisation, the

Māori Women's Welfare League The Māori Women’s Welfare League or Te Rōpū Wāhine Māori Toko I te Ora is a New Zealand welfare organisation focusing on Māori women and children. It held its first conference in Wellington in September 1951. The League's official aims ...

choose not to participate in Whānau Ora, but some regional leaders are involved. The League operates a parenting skills course called ''Whanau Toko i te Ora'' which is unrelated to Whānau Ora.

Ministerial oversight

Between April 2010 and September 2014, the-then

co-leader

Tariana Turia Dame Tariana Turia (born 8 April 1944) is a New Zealand politician. She was first elected to Parliament in 1996. Turia gained considerable prominence during the foreshore and seabed controversy in 2004, and eventually broke with the Labour P ...

served as Minister for Whānau Ora. Between September 2014 and October 2017, the portfolio for Whānau Ora was occupied by Māori Party co-leader

Te Ururoa Flavell Te Ururoa James William Ben Flavell (born 7 December 1955), also known as Hemi Flavell, is a New Zealand politician who was a co-leader of the Māori Party from 2013 until 2018 and represented the Waiariki electorate for the party in Parliamen ...

. Following the , the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Peeni Henare Peeni Ereatara Gladwyn Henare () is a New Zealand Labour Party politician who has been a member of the New Zealand parliament for the Tāmaki Makaurau Māori electorate since the 2014 general election. Family Henare is a great grandson of Taur ...

assumed the position of Minister for Whānau Ora.

References

External links

Politics of New Zealand Health in New Zealand {{NewZealand-stub