$190m social fund to enhance services for Tairāwhiti community

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick say social services spending in Tairāwhiti will deliver better results because of the Social Investment Fund.

• The Government’s $190 million Social Investment Fund aims to improve social services in Tairāwhiti.
• Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the fund targets entrenched issues by investing in measurable improvements.
• Initial funding supports programmes by Emerge Aotearoa, Autism NZ and Te Tihi o Ruahine.

East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick says the Government’s newly announced $190 million Social Investment Fund will help get better results from social services in Tairāwhiti.

“In Tairāwhiti alone, the Government spends around $1.5 billion a year on social sector contracts to deliver better social outcomes for people who need support,” Kirkpatrick told the Gisborne Herald.

“That is an enormous amount of money.

“The social investment approach brings a better focus on data and evidence to drive results from these investments to make sure the big issues in our community are getting the emphasis required,” Kirkpatrick said.

The Government expected the Social Investment Fund to transform the way the social services were delivered to vulnerable New Zealanders.

It forms the centrepiece of a $275m commitment over four years to the Government’s social investment programme.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Finance Minister Nicola Willis, in announcing the Social Investment Fund earlier this week, said the funding would target deeply entrenched issues by investing in services that deliver “measurable improvements” in people’s lives.

The first three initiatives to receive support from the fund are an Emerge Aotearoa youth offending programme, an Autism NZ early intervention scheme and a Te Tihi o Ruahine programme supporting families in need.

Kirkpatrick said there were many significant issues in Tairāwhiti, spanning government agencies that include justice, education, housing, health, police and the Ministry of Social Development.

“If they were all focused on the same outcomes, this streamlined approach to better contracting and measurement of their success, we would see results.

“I am delighted with the work that entities like Manaaki Tairāwhiti and the iwi leaders, as well as other NGOs, have already put into understanding what this might look like in our community, and I know they are ready to get stuck in this coming year.”