Posts Tagged ‘Donna Matahaere-Atariki’

Restoring the mana of our most vulnerable

In 2018 the Labour-led coalition government established the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. This came after years of lobbying from survivors, community leaders, iwi Māori, the Human Rights Commission and the United Nations. The inquiry is investigating why people were taken into care, the abuses that took place, and the lasting impact on survivors. It is specifically focusing on Māori, Pasifika and disabled people because of the disproportionate representation of these communities in the care system.

Oranga Tamariki
Where to from here?

In April 2017, the statutory care and protection agency for Aotearoa (formerly Child, Youth and Family – CYF) re-established themselves as Oranga Tamariki, committing to a five-year transformational plan to overhaul the culture and practice of the entire organisation. In November last year, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Oranga Tamariki entered into a Strategic Partnership, in keeping with the government agency’s intention to work more closely with iwi to improve outcomes for Māori.

Te Kāika

When Donna Matahaere-Atariki (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngā Rauru, Te Ātiawa) was growing up in rural Southland, she was told she had “ideas above her station in life”.

Donna says that professional assessment was absolutely right. Rather than taking offence at a cultural slap in the face, she has used it as motivation to carve a career path as a powerhouse for social change.

Oranga Tamariki
Protecting our children

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu espouses the tribal philosophy: “Mō tātou, ā, mō kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us”, to ensure that we protect the interests of future generations as well as our own. This whakataukī also emphasises our duty of care towards the children that we have amongst us already. Our tamariki are the promise of our future, which is why the issue of child care and protection is of utmost importance to the iwi.