Mr Parata said in 1987, Ngati Porou first proposed its Ara Kainga model and approach, against the backdrop of Puao Te Atatu and the government's policy of devolution to iwi, Te Urupare Rangapu.
Te Ara Kainga was a strategy for the return of Ngati Porou tamaiti mokopuna in state care to their whanau. It was released by the Ngati Porou Whanau Development Taskforce six months before the enactment of the Children, Young Persons and their Families Act 1989.
“Statistics from Oranga Tamariki show over 400 children in state care are Ngati Porou — over 10 percent of the number of Maori children in total,” Mr Parata said.
“We have taken stock of where we are as Ngati Porou and what our shared aspirations are for the care of our children and the wellbeing of the whanau and communities they belong to.
“The result is our report, Caring for our Tamaiti Mokopuna, which we are pleased to be officially launching in the company of the Children's Commissioner of Aotearoa, Judge Becroft.
“The report urges us to focus on Ngati Porou whanau who are at risk to restore their capacity to provide for their members' emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.
“In doing so we will be reducing and reversing the flow of our mokopuna into state care and we will be replenishing the future stocks of our family leaders and the fabric of our hapu, marae and communities.
“This is a challenge and an opportunity to galvanise all of us — policy makers, funders, providers, advocates and, crucially, Ngati Porou whanau and hapu,” Mr Parata said.
Judge Becroft said “the vision in general is for the state involvement to decline and fade out and by 2025 have a ‘by Maori for Maori' approach. That's a very significant vision.
“It's something of a blueprint for the rest of the country. Other iwi are saying it, too.
“It's entirely consistent with the Government's legislation so it has come at a very significant time.”
Mr Becroft told the crowd he brought a T-shirt to wear with a powerful quote from Dame Whina Cooper on it — “Take care of our children, take care of what they hear, take care of what they see, take care of what they feel. For how the children will grow, so will the shape of Aotearoa.”
“This is a threefold challenge. In a sense we are building a nation when we build capacity and resilience in children. So this is the work of nation-building, community-building, iwi-building.
“I felt an absolute rock-solid commitment (from Ngati Porou) for change and for a better way and acknowledgement that is real.”
Judge Becroft spoke about important parts of the report.
“TRONPnui include in the proposed whakapapa-based, whanau-centred care model and practice, the mandate and mechanisms to stop the flow of Ngati Porou children into the social welfare system; and divert the flow into whanau and hapu support whanau to rebuild and grow their capability and confidence to provide quality care and support for their tamaiti mokopuna.
“These are words I hope resonate and reverberate throughout the whole country.
“This was a 1989 vision. This sort of vision and others that are being developed by iwi around the country demonstrate a new way for dealing with children and contact with the state. It's absolutely crucial this time around we put life and breath to it.
“This is not a question of will it happen? It's more a case of we can't afford for it not to happen as a country. It's a vision we can all own and get behind,” Mr Becroft said.
“The landscape in 2020 is utterly different from 1989. I think both Treaty partners are up for a radical shift in how things are done and I think Oranga Tamariki certainly has a whole new set of obligations and are aware of them.
“But they too will need help and encouragement to give life to the new legislation, just as iwi and Maori organisations will.
“It's going to need a collective will and a collective commitment but I'm optimistic it can happen. I wouldn't be in the job if I didn't think that.”
