Kotahitanga - Community partnerships - Working with our partners and stakeholders

Partnering with Māori

We have strengthened our capability to provide leadership, support and coordination between the Crown and Māori to deliver on agreements reached during the Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiation process in relation to social development.

Our regional teams work closely with whānau, hapū and iwi throughout the country and over the past year we’ve been working on the Te Hiku o Te Ika Iwi – Crown Social Development and Wellbeing Accord (the Accord). We are the Crown lead in partnership with Te Puni Kōkiri on the Accord.

We are responsible for coordinating between Crown agencies and the Iwi of Te Hiku to develop and manage a high level plan to achieve the aspirations and commitments laid out in the Accord.

The Accord was signed in 2013 as part of the Te Hiku Iwi Treaty settlement process but the governance activity set out in the Accord was not maintained and momentum waned.

A Taumata Rangatira hui was held at Parliament in June to reset the Accord and this was followed by another hui in October.

We are now working with Te Hiku Iwi representatives and Crown agencies to establish a strong, sustainable and effective governance structure that allows for co-governance and empowers iwi and government agencies to work together and deliver real change in the rohe.

Find out more about the Te Hiku Social Accord

Caption: Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni greets the Chairman, Te Rūnanga Nui o te Aupōuri Rick Witana at a recent hui at Parliament.

Strengthening support for the sexual violence sector

Work is underway to strengthen the support at a national level for the non-government organisations (NGOs) providing services in the sexual violence sector.

An independent sector working group has been formed to define what support the sexual violence sector requires and to design the ideal ways to provide this support.

This project, which is being led by MSD and ACC, is part of the cross-government family violence and sexual violence work programme co-ordinated by the Joint Venture for Family Violence and Sexual Violence.

The 20-person working group was set up following an Opportunity for Engagement process which was carried out to ensure wide representation from NGOs, service providers and interested parties.

The working group members represent the full breadth of the sexual violence sector – from prevention, medical forensic services and crisis support through to long-term care and recovery services.

It also includes representatives from sector bodies Te Ohaakii a Hine – National Network Ending Sexual Violence Together (TOAH-NNEST) and Male Survivors Aotearoa.

The working group has held its first meeting. It will seek input and expertise from across the sexual violence services sector as this work progresses.

Improving outcomes for Māori and Pacific people

We’ve received positive feedback on our draft Māori Strategy and Action Plan which aims to improve the MSD experience for Māori.

Over the past month we’ve been consulting with whānau, providers and MSD staff on the draft strategy and action plan.

The overall objective of this work is to ensure Māori have positive experiences every time they interact with us; we are partnering with the right people and organisations for the greatest impact on improving equity of outcomes for Māori; and we are supporting the long-term social and economic development of Māori.

We’ve also been consulting with Pacific providers and key government organisations to ensure the voices of our Pacific communities are reflected in the first draft of the Pacific Strategy and Action Plan which aims to improve the equity of outcomes for Pacific people.

The selection process for the steering and reference groups that will support this work has been completed and the names of the people who will participate in the groups will be released shortly.

If you have any questions about this work, please contact our team at maoriandpacificstrategy@msd.govt.nz