The head of Te Puni Kōkiri says the clock was already ticking on contracts with various Whānau Ora commissioning agencies, some of which may have already changed hands if the Covid-19 pandemic hadn’t pushed back a scheduled review process.

The revelation calls into question serious allegations of racism and political hit jobs made by John Tamihere, who said it was part of a government attack on Māori and Māori-led solutions.

Three of the inaugural Whānau Ora commissioning agencies face imminent closure after tendering unsuccessful bids to continue their services.

Te Puni Kōkiri Tumu Whakarae, Dave Samuels (Waikato, Te Whakatōhea), insists the procurement process is not because the current Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies have done something wrong, but about strengthening Whānau Ora.

“It’s about looking to the future in terms of where Whānau Ora can reach its full potential and aligning that with social investment. I do want to thank them for what they’ve done, and this is not a reflection on anything that they’ve done, in terms of some ulterior motive.”

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, formerly known as Te Pou Matakana (North Island), Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu (South Island), and Pasifika Futures (Pacific families across Aotearoa), which shone for their delivery of services through the pandemic, were unsuccessful with their tender.

‘No political interference’

In an extensive interview with Te Ao Māori News, Samuels maintained there was no political interference.

In his role as Tumu Whakarae, Samuels retains the final decision following the tender process, a process he called ‘vigorous’ and included a panel of experts and experienced evaluators, which has not yet been made public.

Samuels says the panel members will be disclosed after the procurement process finishes when all successful and unsuccessful respondents will be informed and debriefed.

But in response to accusations from John Tamihere, including his firm belief it was part of a government attack on Māori and Māori-led solutions, Samuels pointed out it’s normal practice for Te Puni Kōkiri to undergo a procurement process or retendering every three to five years.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic, which started a little more than five years after Tamihere’s agency won its funding, disrupted this process.

“At the time we were in the middle of Covid, what we did was we extended the commissioning agencies through Covid, because we didn’t want to do anything with Whānau Ora that would upset their delivery over that crisis period.”

“But the plan to strengthen Whānau Ora (during the COVID pandemic), it would be wrong for me to say that I had this plan in 2019”, said Samuels.

Public health orgs, Iwi-Māori partnerships successful in tender, says Lady Moxon

Te Kōhao Health says the National Hauora Coalition, a public health organisation (PHO) has been successful in its tender.

Te Kōhao managing director Lady Moxon Tureiti says she doesn’t have “anything against the National Hauora Coalition, except they weren’t set up for this”.

“Except that for 10 years these huge numbers of providers, both iwi and urban, have been working really hard to create the kind of trust that is required to be able to support our people in the way they need to be supported. And here we are having to start all over again and then what? Then what? And the reason for this?”

Te Kōhao Health is among the providers which face closure once the Whānau Ora funding ends.

“Let me be very clear about it, it is because this was purposeful. This was meant to deconstruct the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency simply because, they were too powerful, too strong and too successful.”

But Samuels denies these claims and says providers like Te Kōhao were welcome to align with more than one tender.

“We didn’t have any stipulation that providers had to line up under (only) one potential Commissioning Agency for another,” Samuels said.

As with the review panelists, Samuels would not confirm the identity of any successful tenderers until the procurement process is complete.

He did however confirm the process was open to all Māori health agencies, including those normally funded by Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ, which includes PHOs and Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs), who typically focus on system-level change for Māori in primary healthcare.

Whereas for the current Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies and its navigators and providers, the approach is about strengthening whānau self-determination by providing resources and support to more than 100 providers.

Tureiti told Te Ao Māori News the National Hauora Coalition has partnered up with two Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, understood to be Te Tiratū, (Waikato-Tainui) and Ngaa Pou Hauora oo Taamaki Makaurau, (South Auckland).

“Those Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards are a creation of the Crown. They are a creation to do the work of the Pae Ora Act, the Health Act”, says Tureiti.

“And here they are running around basically, in full competition with us, when they should be focused on supporting Māori health providers in the health space. It’s particularly now that it is so, so in trouble. And it is not being able to do the work that is required for our people and the needs, the plethora it needs that require their attention.”

Whānau Ora is a Māori-led, whānau-centred approach to improving family well-being by addressing individual needs within a cultural context, operating through Navigators, Iwi, and community providers to deliver wraparound support.

By contrast, Primary Health Organisations like the National Hauora Coalition partner with general practices, kaupapa Māori health providers, and Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards to enhance primary healthcare and improve equity and outcomes, particularly for Māori.

This was created under the then-Labour government with the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, but this was reworked by minister Shane Reti before he lost the Health portfolio earlier this year.

Samuels remains confident the new Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will align with Whānau Ora’s seven core outcomes.

“The operating model of Whānau Ora with whānau at the centre with navigators and providers, with the commissioning agencies and the ability for commissioning agencies to also be able to fund initiatives. This is an initiative that I know instinctively works.”

New regional boundaries for new Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies

Te Puni Kōkiri confirmed with Te Ao Māori News where the new Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will deliver their services.

• Rohe 1 - covers Northland, Auckland, Waikato.
• Rohe 2 - covers Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui and Wellington.
• Rohe 3 - covers Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, West Coast, Otago and Southland.
• Rohe 4 - is a national service focused on delivery methodologies that can deliver for Pacific peoples across Aotearoa.

The unofficial list of commissioning agencies so far

Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa and Te Tauraki Chair Rakihia Tau confirmed with Te Ao Māori News that Te Tauraki Limited, a subsidiary of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, is Te Puni Kōkiri’s preferred tenderer for commissioning of Whānau Ora services within Te Waipounamu.

Tipa says “they are committed to working towards achieving a strong platform for Whānau Ora commissioning for communities in Te Tau Ihu, the Ngāi Tahu Takiwā and Wharekauri / Rēkohu (Chatham Islands).”

Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira confirmed their success on their website page that it had secured one of the North Island roles.

Sources who spoke to Te Ao Māori News said some of the other successful tenderers are:

- Te Taumata Hauora o Te Kahu o Taonui (Te Tai Tokerau).

- Te Tiratū, (Waikato-Tainui).

- Ngaa Pou Hauora oo Taamaki Makaurau, (South Auckland).

- The National Hauora Coalition, (Auckland, Te Tai Tokerau).

- The Cause Collective (servicing the Pasifika people nationwide).

At the time of publishing, Te Ao Māori News has yet to obtain comment from each agency.

However, the National Hauora Coalition declined to comment and directed enquiries regarding the Whānau Ora Commissioning Services back to Te Puni Kōkiri.

Procurement process to strengthen Whānau Ora Vision

Initially created in 2010, Whānau Ora was the brainchild of the late Kahurangi Tariana Turia; founder and Co-leader of the Māori Party, following its confidence-and-supply agreement with the National Party in 2008. The program was designed to empower whānau as decision-makers, countering decades of top-down approaches from government agencies.

Apart from administering the funding for Whanau Ora, Te Puni Kōkiri also provides policy and operation advice to ministers and the government.

Samuels acknowledges how the timing of the procurement process may look politically motivated to the public but stands by the whole process to strengthen the vision of Whānau Ora.

“This is an opportunity because the contracts were coming up on the 1st of July.

“Now I did go out to the commissioning agencies at the end of 2023, beginning of 2024, to the current Commission agencies and signaled that we wanted to do this and the reasons why we wanted to do this. And that’s around the ability to reach those communities in need to use evidence and data to both deliver the services they need and deserve, but also to have a feedback loop that proves attribution, that’s what we are after in terms of strengthening.”

Saving jobs and creating opportunities

While Tamihere has pegged that over 600 kaimahi could lose their jobs, Samuels expects there will be a need under the new Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies (WOCA). But that decision on which navigators and providers to use will rest upon them (WOCA).

If the transition is successful, Samuels says he ultimately wants to align with the social investment approach that this government has signalled.

“(I’d want) Whānau Ora to be in front of the queue for social investment and I expect Whānau Ora to grow, because it is successful and will be proven to be successful.”

Further announcements from Te Puni Kōkiri with regards to the $155 million annual contracts and the new Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies are expected in April.