Clarity, Connection, Change
Opinion editorial written by Te Wāhi Tiaki Tātou
He Tangata: Putting Tāngata Whaikaha at the Heart of System Reform
Ensuring new investment truly reaches whānau requires clarity, connection, and trust.
A Moment of Hope
When Budget 2025 announced $1 billion in new funding for Disability Support Services - including $240 million specifically for residential care - we felt hopeful. For many whānau, this investment represents long-overdue recognition of the pressure they’ve lived under for years. It’s an important step by the Crown, and one worth acknowledging.
But if there’s one thing experience in this sector has taught us, it’s that funding alone doesn’t guarantee access. Real impact depends on whether whānau can understand what’s available to them, navigate what’s changing, and trust that help will arrive when they need it.
The Pause
In 2024, the Government announced a “temporary pause” on certain disability supports, including residential placements, with no consultation or little explanation.
Families who had already endured months of assessments and peer reviews suddenly found themselves in limbo. For many, that “pause” wasn’t temporary at all. It disrupted lives, heightened stress, and eroded trust.
That experience sits heavily on a lot of tāngata whaikaha and their whānau. It made one thing very clear: when systems shift suddenly, the human cost lands hardest on those already carrying the heaviest load.
What Whānau Are Telling Us
In Porirua, whānau continued to express confusion and fatigue as they tried to navigate changing rules and unclear information.
Common concerns included:
• “I’m not sure what support I can get now, and what’s coming later.”
• “Every time there’s a change, the rules seem to shift again.”
• “I don’t even know who to ask anymore.”
The message is consistent: whānau are tired of navigating an ever‑changing maze. They don’t want to miss out; they just want clear, human guidance.
What We Learnt from Reimagining Tāngata Whaikaha
Through Te Wāhi Tiaki Tatou's Reimagining Tāngata Whaikaha work, we spent time sitting with whānau, providers, and community leaders to understand what’s needed for change to actually reach people.
Some powerful themes emerged:
• Knowing is everything.
• Navigation matters.
• Local and cultural connections count.
• Change is fragile.
We’ve seen this first‑hand in Porirua. When information flows clearly, when trusted local faces help bridge the system, and when kaupapa Māori values guide the process, uptake improves, and stress eases.
Transforming dollars into Dignity
The Crown’s new investment is a chance to rebuild trust. To make that happen, we need to fund not just services but the scaffolding that helps whānau access them.
This means:
• Whānau Navigators
• Clear, accessible communications
• Community clinics
• Māori‑led implementation
• Continuous feedback loops
Without these, new funding risks becoming another well‑intentioned promise that’s hard to find on the ground.
Lifting Where We Stand
In Porirua, we’ve seen what happens when community, providers, and whānau lift together. Trust grows. Access improves. The system becomes more humane.
Transformation doesn’t end with the Budget. It begins when policy meets people, when information becomes understanding, and when every tāngata whaikaha and their whānau can say, “We know what’s available to us and we can get it.”
He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata