Award Ceremony for Whanau Ora Reo Poster

Matai ki te rangi, tera ko Puanga, ko te tohu mo te tau hou
As one gazes at the heavens it is Puanga signalling the new year

No reira, nga mihi o te tau hou ki a katou katoa.

Ki te tangata whenua, nga mihi. Ki a Tā Mason Durie, Professor Taiarahia Black and Steve Maharey, Vice Chancellor tena koutou. Aa ki a tatou katoa kua huihui mai nei i tenei ra, tena koutou katoa.

I would like to acknowledge the many kura kaupapa who have come together today, and especially the tamariki who are here, and who have put forward their work.
·        Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Rito
·        Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tamaki-nui-a-Rua
·        Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Mana Tamariki
·        Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Manawatu
·        Te Kura a Iwi o Whakatupuranga Rua Mano

Tena koutou.

Matariki can be translated to mean ‘many eyes’ and whenever I think of this concept, I can’t help but turn my mind to the bright eyes of our rangatahi, so full of potential and energy. If Matariki is a time for reflection and planning for the year ahead, than surely our rangatahi are the true inspiration and anchor for our whakaaro.

No reira tena koutou tamariki maa.

I have been looking forward to coming to this event for quite a while. As you know Whanau Ora, is something that is very special to me, and it is a kaupapa that informs a large part of my work as a Minister, but also as mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother.

The kaupapa of Whānau Ora has come from our communities, it has been born out of our aspirations for the future of our children, and also in response to our journey towards collective wellbeing.

A couple of months ago, one of the great divas of song passed away – Whitney Houston.   One of her waiata that remains her legacy is the song, “I believe the children are our future; teach them well and let them lead the way”.

It is a message that I absolutely believe – and I truly believe that if we teach each other well, our future is in the best hands – our own.

It is about the principle of reciprocity – or perhaps more aptly – the concept of tuakana /teina.   Whānau Ora is driven by this philosophy – that we must uphold our collective responsibilities to care for our own and take up our obligations towards one another.

What is exciting to me, is that today, I get to see and to hear what Whanau Ora means to our rangatahi. You have been asked to develop a piece of art that shows your perspectives on the theme “Whanau Ora: Kia ora ai te whanau”.

I am really looking forward to seeing into your world, to understand how Whānau Ora operates through the leadership of our next generation.

Whanau Ora, at its very heart, is simply about whanau wellbeing.

There is no one definition of Whanau Ora, so rangatahi ma, you really have started with a blank canvas. The shape that your artwork has taken, will be inspired by your unique experiences, your world view, your values, our tikanga and matauranga – no pressure, but today is about you, and seeing and hearing your views on our future.

Last night I attended a dinner celebration in Whanganui, which brought together teachers and educators from across our rohe to talk about supporting the Maori Health Workforce Development programme.

It was an opportunity to talk about how important our rangahauraro – our rangatahi -  are to supporting our collective health outcomes in the future, and also to talk about Whanau Ora, and what this will mean for our future health workforce.

It is my hope, that Whanau Ora will drive the transformation we seek to empower our whanau; to put whanau back in the driver’s seat of their own development; and hopefully remind us all, that whanau are the ones who have the ultimate control over their own destiny.

Why? So that our children, and our mokopuna can have an even brighter future. So that our whakapapa is protected, and so that with each generation we move from strength to strength to strength. We must remember why we continue the work we do – and it is for our mokopuna.

We talked last night about the need for more young Maori to be choosing health related careers, and discussed how these jobs may change in the future given the way that Whanau Ora may impact on the system. These are important conversations to have.

But perhaps the most important issue for me when considering the future of our collective wellbeing, is ensuring that we have guardians in place who will keep our whakaaro, our kaupapa and our philosophies safe.  That we have generations of our rangatahi who understand what Whanau Ora means to them, what it meant to us, how it works, and what is needed in order to keep it safe.

Of course, we are organic people, and I don’t expect that we will see the same tomorrow, as we do today – however, I do want to know that the rootstock of our whakaaro are born of us, are born of our tipuna, and are born from rangiatea.

So today is a special day for me, I am looking forward to seeing your mahi. I am looking forward to taking what I learn back to parliament, to talk about it with other Ministers, and other MP’s and to work towards protecting our kaupaap so that when it is your turn to take it over, it will be a strong, healthy, and flourishing kaupapa that will positively impact on the lives of our many whanau of the future.

To the many providers who have made this event possible, MidCentral Health, Public Health Services, Central PHO, and Massey University – I thank you.

Thank you for bringing us all together today, and thank you for giving our rangatahi an avenue to communicate their thoughts, their experiences and their wawata for the future.

Finally, I leave the hui in good hands – yours.

Ko te rangahauraro te kupenga mo āpōpō.