Tāne from Northland Regional Corrections Facility (NRCF) welcomed manuhiri and challenged officials in Te Tai Tokerau at the Māori Pathways programme announcement.
Published: Friday, 23 July 2021 | Rāmere, 23 Hōngongoi, 2021
Attended by Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis, Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare and local MP for Northland, Willow-Jean Prime, the event announced Māori Pathways and Paiheretia te Muka Tāngata in the region.
(From left) Barney Mackie (Tai Tokerau Co-design Tāne participant), Thereza Clark (Tai Tokerau Co-Design Whānau participant), Taipari Munro (Co-design Cultural Advisor and Whānau Co-design participant), Jay Hepi (Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi)
Minister Davis said accessing a person’s culture was at the core of the programme and was a right, not a privilege. One tāne, who spoke at the event, and currently engaged in the Corrections system acknowledged, “That’s one of the most important and needed facilities here”.
Te Puni Kōkiri, Ara Poutama Aotearoa, and the Ministry of Social Development have partnered with local Māori communities, hapū and iwi, to create the conditions for whānau ora for those in the Corrections system. This announcement is the realisation of working together through a design process that involved tāne and whānau with lived experiences.
In Northland, Te Puni Kōkiri and Corrections have partnered with four local providers - Ngāti Hine Health Trust; Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi; Te Hā Oranga; and Waitomo Papakāinga Development Society Incorporated.
They will provide Kaiarataki Navigator services to support whānau to navigate Corrections, maintain links between whānau members, and work towards achieving their aspirations while embedding kaupapa Māori and whānau centred approaches.
The Māori Pathways and Paiheretia te Muka Tāngata was launched at Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison earlier this year.