FINALLY - MAORI LEADERS SEE THE MOA IN THE WHARE

We have been harping on about the crap Maori leaders who do a lot of schmoozing and grooving but bugger all to guide their own people out of the poverty pit.

But two recent pronouncements have given us some hope. One , from Mark Solomon, sounds good and wise , but anything from Mark needs to be considered against the backdrop of his fragile leadership. It has the feel of an orchestrated PR campaign.

However, despite the motivation, it is fantastic that Ngai Tahu's big cheese is finally calling for the tribe to tackle domestic violence. Excellent. Now we expect him to follow with some more unpalatable truths, like too many of the tribe have gang affiliations and he needs to condemn them too. And that poverty is still a big issue.So a good start from Solomon. But now we have heard what he thinks we want to know what he is going to do .

Iif Solomon's admittance, that it was time for Maori to take ownership of the issues that Maori have been trying to blame on everyone else wasn't a big and happy surprise , it was a bigger andhappier surprise when Pita Sharples followed suit.

The story is in the Dom this morning and the headline "Put health before beaches says Sharples" - gives you the picture. We think that this speech is a turning point for the party. It is an acknowledgment of what really matters to the rank and file.

It shows that there are many more things that will change the destiny of Maori than some technical access and ownership to some land that is well used and cared for now.

"For many of my friends they dont even know whats going on with the foreshore and seabed......

But they know whats going on at home when they are hungry.

They know whats going on at home when then havent got jobs....

These are the sorts of things that our people are dealing with day to day and thats why I really would like us to think why we are in parliament.

There were a few good stories in the media this morning but none more important than Sharples telling the Maori Party Conference that the issues of health and crime were far more important to Maori than beaches.

It is the best thing that Sharples has said for a bloody long time. The grievances of old need to be sorted but in terms of priority, diabetes, domestic violence, infanticide, education and drugs merit more effort and attention.

Maori dont need to "own the beaches" to feel better or have a better life. But they do need to own the social problems they are facing collectively and individually.

As two of the more prominent Maori leaders have now put this issue on the the nations paepae

we think that the debate will gain some momentum. Whanau Ora could well be the start. Ad it begs the question - Is this the beginning of the true Maori renaissance?

WHANAU AURA

There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over the Whanau  Ora launch - the new way to get families off the poverty tread mill. 

We think we know what Whanau Ora was meant to be and what it is going to be. 

Now the above diagram is half crap and half sense. The Green segements  are the important bit. 

There is still too much of a sense of entitlement within the ranks of Maori leaders for them to make much of a difference. Self reliance and and personal responsibility are not intrinsic Maori values otherwise we would not need Whanau ora. The reliance on the collective is part of the problem. 

However we see much merit in a focus on the Whanau taking more responsibility for its own. and at the end of the day the families who are most in need  may eventually  benefit from a reconnection to their tribal roots but  a night class in computer literacy and nutrition could well provide more benefit. 

Now for a start the one point that everyone does agree on is that there are a group of families through out the country who are in a hell  that many of us know little of. Sometimes of their own making sometimes not. Its about intergenerational dis-functionality, despair, hopelessness, and a life that is  nothing more than an existence and their existence is dependent on the state. 

One of the issues has been the handout mentality that has been entrenched in our past socialist welfare system. The sense of  entitlement is deep rooted in the collective psyche of the poor and dare we say it Maori. 

For us the most exciting things about Whanau Ora  is  that  government departments would finally be called on to work together. 

Thats got to be a winner. 

There has also been some cynicism over the level of funding  -- no new money  . Fantastic! That's great.  It means all the crock of shit programmes that have not provided any social payback can be canned. The new Minister  of Whanau Ora, Tariana Turia has the  various agency chief executives reporting direct to her and she will want progress quickly. 

Thats  got to be music to the ears of all taxpayers and beneficiaries. 

The bad things is that the way it is designed could lead to the possibility of misuse funds as it relies on a measure of ' bulk funding.'

The example that was used to provide how it would work was a bit simplisitic.  

However the solutions are not going to be simple and sadly the changes will not happen overnight. We just hope that the groups who have been selected to roll out the first wave of Whanau Ora  realise that there is an awful lot riding one some pretty quick and demonstrable outcomes from this policy change.  So when the government departments don't deliver,   the - in the field providers, shoud have an open line direct to  the Minister so she will be able to tell  the Chief executives  in no uncertain terms to sort out their departmental deficiencies. 

It is a lot to expect people who don't make decisions about their existence to suddenly make the psychological shift to self determination and in the end nothing will be achieved unless the individuals and whanau take responsiblity for their lives. However we  believe that there are some very good providers out there , who with the freedom to do things their way and the ability to  make government departments deliver for their clients will see Whanau Ora become a reality. 

STERILISATON OFFER THE BEST IDEA OF THE YEAR

David Garrett is not our favourite MP. However this week he said something that we definitely agree with. Offer sterilisations to those who have difficulty coping with motherhood. Fran O'Sullivan can also see some merit in this controversial idea.

We have , in a past life spent four years as a social worker in a medium security prison. 22 years ago. It would have been good if we had been able to offer sterilisation as an option to some of the families we worked with.
In times of stress , caused by no job, no hope and no life , sex fills the many voids.

And for those on life's margins the money goes to the things that keep you in the fog , the things like smokes, alcohol and drugs, the things that make you numb enough to get through another long day of fragile relationships, no money, no love. Just simple existence.

There were many many times when the frightened women who had partners who hid their fatuous lives behind a wall of bravado and macho stomping, with three or four snot nosed glue eared kids underfoot, would quietly in abject shame, ask about the cost of sterilisation.

Shame - because they felt that it meant that by asking for a procedure that would mean they would have no more kids was somehow an acknowledgement that they were not coping as a mother. That asking for some control over their lives was somehow a bad thing.

But for so many it would have been a chance to get off the freight train to hell they were on.

So we are all for sterilisation being offered free by the state. It should come with no shame just as abortion should.

Women should be fully informed about it - and feel strong enough to make an informed choice.

It makes good economic and social sense.

Garrett has started a very important debate and one that we think is strongly linked to whanau ora.
Now most people who read this blog know who we are and know we have a background in community development and iwi development.

So its not unusual for us to get asked: "What is Whanau Ora?"

Well we think we understand what it is.

Its really about two things.

Its about shaking up government departments to work together to streamline services to those most at need. At the moment its a dog breakfast - with some good services being delivered but in an ad hoc way with no central co-ordination. - the five government cars up the driveway scenario is very real for those at the bottom of the heap.

And its also about ensuring that those who need the services have the information and the courage and support to make their own choices about their lives.

It's about using the extended whanau concept as well. But sometimes that extended whanau is far, far away when you are eking out an existence on the mean streets of South Auckland or Porirua.

So its also about the woman with her back to the wall, toddlers underfoot and a man at her side who hides his shame in a bottle, and no family near to support her. It's about her knowing that she can have access to free sterilisation and that she has the courage to make that decision and that she feel empowered making that decision.

Its really about having access to good information and good advice and having the strength, courage and support to make the choices that are best for you and those you love.