Tamihere and Government head to Wellington High Court today over $155m Whānau Ora contract

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency CE John Tamihere is suing the Government over the loss of the agency's Whānau Ora contract.

John Tamihere and the Government will head to the Wellington High Court today over a $155 million Whānau Ora contract.

Lawyers acting for the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA) chief executive filed urgent documents in the Wellington court on Friday requesting a judicial review after losing the contract for Whānau Ora services in Te Ika a Maui (North Island) last month.

The Secretary for Māori Development Dave Samuels is named as the first defendant and the case is set down for 10am today before Wellington High Court judge Justice Christine Grice.

Crown agency Te Puni Kōkiri (TPK) announced in March all three agencies that had delivered the contracts since 2014 - Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (North Island), Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu (South Island), and Pasifika Futures (Pacific families across Aotearoa) had missed out on new contracts through the procurement process.

TPK announced four new organisations would deliver the $155m worth of services to Māori and Pasifika, and more details would be announced this month.

But Tamihere’s urgent court action could delay that process.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said last month that he supported TPK’s decision following its tendering process.

“It’s entirely appropriate after 10 years that TPK makes an operational decision to change its commissioning agencies. It’s not about an individual commissioning agency, or frankly, John Tamihere, it’s actually about making sure those agencies deliver,” he said.

Tamihere said litigation was his only means to test TPK’s procurement processes.

“Documents have been filed in the High Court in Wellington contesting the Te Puni Kokiri Whānau Ora Commissioning Procurement Process. We have 116 partners, the crème of Māori expertise, skill and capability throughout Te Ika-ā-Maui who are all interested parties,” Tamihere said when filing the papers.

“On behalf of the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency, its board of directors and all of our partner network, we want to make it very clear that this is a process contesting a Crown agency, contesting this Government’s approach to Māori and contesting Te Puni Kokiri.

“It has nothing to do with damaging the reported winning tenderers. If they become collateral damage in this regard that is a matter for Te Puni Kokiri and its leadership to resolve,” he said.

TPK did would not comment on the legal action.

“Te Puni Kōkiri is aware of High Court proceedings filed by Te Pou Matakana Limited (WOCA), and does not plan to comment further on matters before the court,” a spokesperson told the Herald.

Whānau Ora started under the 2014 National-Māori Party coalition as a new way to fund support services for Māori. TPK data shows around 80,000 Māori and or Pasifika use Whānau Ora services.

Joseph Los’e is the Herald’s Kaupapa Māori editor. This story has been updated to add that he worked with John Tamihere at Te Whānau o Waipareira from 2011 to 2022.