Tainui's chairman unveiled, at a high-powered event last night, the tribe's intention to build two "Whanau Ora" centres in the Waikato.
About 100 leaders from the public and private sectors gathered at the Novotel Tainui Hotel to listen to Tukoroirangi Morgan outline the implementation of Tainui's visionary "Whakatupuranga 2050".
Mr Morgan said the vision was the key to addressing decades of poverty and under-achievement among Maori.
He pointed to the over-representation of Maori in areas such as poor health, substandard housing, overcrowded living conditions, poor performance in education and high rates of imprisonment, and said things needed to change.
"We must find ways to work together, to literally and figuratively tear down the silos and work collaboratively and co-operatively to deliver better outcomes for Maori.
"The message I bring to you from the people of Waikato-Tainui is simple: `work with us'. Because let me be very clear: the system has failed Maori".
It is understood that one of the "Whanau Ora" centres will be at The Base. The tribe is yet to hear whether they will be awarded a "Whanau Ora" contract by the Government but the centres are seen as a way of providing social services.
Mr Morgan has been working with other tribal leaders to implement an initiative called marae clusters to help marae collectives identify opportunities for securing government contracts. He said the goal was to build and strengthen relationships with and between tribal service, Maori and mainstream providers, government agencies and marae clusters.
"Waikato-Tainui will build two `Whanau Ora' centres that will bring all the social service agencies and providers together under one korowai (umbrella).
" It is a whanau-centred approach that will be supported by marae clusters working on the ground to assess need and deliver the appropriate support to ensure our people flourish. Stuff
