Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency Accountability
S. Paurini made this Official Information request to Nanaia Mahuta
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Nanaia Mahuta should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: S. Paurini
Dear Nanaia Mahuta,
Can you explain why Whanau Ora is not able to be held publicly accountable for the public funding it receives every year?
Why, for example, is it not able to be subject to the Official Information Act?
I have asked through your associate, Mr Henare and through your ministry, for information regarding how the money that agency receives is spent.
I want to see how, if at all, our genuinely needful whanau and communities are being served by Whanau Ora.
Because of my experience and the experiences of other whanau, I believe most Maori aren't being supported well - or at all.
I want to see what the $70m per year is being spent on.
As a Maori and as a citizen I urge you to require the Whanau Ora Agency to be subject to public scrutiny. This is in the best interests of Maori and our NZ population.
Yours faithfully,
S. Paurini
From: Ilaise Laukau
Tēnā koe
On behalf of Hon Nanaia Mahuta, thank you for correspondence of 13 February 2020 regarding funding for Whānau Ora.
The matters you raise relate more closely to the portfolio responsibilities of Hon Peeni Henare. Your correspondence has therefore been transferred and accepted by his office for consideration.
Ngā mihi
Ilaise
Private Secretary (Admin) - Māori Development | Office of Hon Nanaia Mahuta
show quoted sections
From: S. Paurini
Dear Ilaise Laukau,
I've written to Mr Henare, he doesn't respond. Ms Mahuta should respond because her ministry funds Whanau Ora.
Yours sincerely,
S. Paurini
From: Madeline Smith
Tēnā koe Seann
I refer to your information request below. Your email has been forwarded
to Te Puni Kōkiri for a response.
The Official Information Act (the Act) only applies to government
agencies, as listed in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Act, organisations other
than local organisations listed in Schedule 1, Part 2 of the Act and local
organisations listed in Schedule 1, Part 3 of the Act.
Whānau Ora is a revolutionary public sector initiative because it devolves
the delivery of Whānau Ora services to community-based commissioning
agencies. Delivering Whānau Ora through non-governmental organisations
means decision-making happens within the communities that are being
supported. It allows the use of local knowledge and gives freedom to adapt
to issues happening within the community to help grow local solutions.
The Whanau Ora Review Report – Tipu Mātoro ki te Ao affirms that this
unique approach is working well for Māori and Pacific families. You can
read the report here
[1]https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/whakamahia/wh...
Due to the unique devolved commissioning model, the commissioning agencies
are held accountable to the Crown for performance and expenditure of
public funds through their contracts with Te Puni Kōkiri. Te Puni Kōkiri
has an important role in monitoring Whānau Ora as a unique public service
model.
There are a range of mechanisms used by Te Puni Kōkiri to monitor
commissioning agencies performance including:
• Outcome agreements and variations
• Letters of Expectation
• Annual Investment Plans
• Quarterly Reports
• Annual Reports
• Incentive Payments
The Annual Reports of each commissioning agency are publicly available on
their respective websites, and copies of the annual budget confirmation
letters are available for download from the Te Puni Kōrkiri website here:
[2]Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies – Budget Confirmation Letters PDF
(1.7MB).
As advised, we will respond to your request dated 21 January 2020 for
information related to the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency funding, and
information related to John Tamihere and other named individuals, no later
than 27 March 2020. Further documents in the bulleted list above are
currently being considered for release to you, in full or in part, as part
of our response.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this response. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[3]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
Madeline
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tauwaea DDI : +64 4 819 6254 | Waea |
| Madeline Smith Pūkoro M : +64 27 298 5141 |
| Senior Advisor | Kaitohu Waea Whakaahua F : 0800 875 329 | |
| Tōmua Paetukutuku W : [4]www.tpk.govt.nz |
| Te Puni Kōkiri, National Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Puni Kōkiri House,|
| Office 143 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, |
| New Zealand |
| PO Box 3943, Wellington 6140, New |
| Zealand |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
>
show quoted sections
From: S. Paurini
Dear Nanaia Mahuta,
I still need a response to my request. I understand this is an unusual time most of us are going through but can you please address my request.
Yours faithfully,
S. Paurini
From: N Mahuta (MIN)
Nanaia Mahuta
Thank you for your email. Due to the high volume of enquiries at this
time, my team will be triaging issues related to COVID19 in the first
instance.
I appreciate your patience at this time and will get back to you as soon
as I can.
Ngā mihi
Office of Hon Nanaia Mahuta MP
Reception +64 4 817 6867 | Ministerial Email
[1][Nanaia Mahuta request email] | Web [2]beehive.govt.nz | Postal Freepost
Parliament, Private Bag 18 041, Parliament Buildings, Wellington 6160, New
Zealand
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[Nanaia Mahuta request email]
2. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/minister/hon...
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence