Speech: Community Action Youth and Drugs Hui

Delivered by Jay Rerekura on behalf of Minister Turia.

I want to thank Te Aitanga o Hauiti Hauora; the Midlands CAYAD region; the National CAYAD Advisory Group; and Shore/Whariki for the opportunity to be with you at this important national hui.

Whenever I come to the beautiful lands of Te Araroa; I think back to that time in April 1996 when the heart was ripped out of your community with the fire that gutted the wharenui, Hinerupe; and the wharekai, Rongomaitapui.

In that early morning blaze, this historic marae, a marae which traced its origins back to 1870, was razed to the ground; and with it the taonga; the carvings; the memories of generations over a century and more.

It was an experience that I can relate to only too well. Our tribal home, Whangaehu Marae, was flattened by the Wahine storm in 1968; erased by fire in 1980 and then just a few years ago ravaged by the floods that affected the whole of Rangitikei and Manawatu.

And yet here we are today – our marae is restored to its former glory – and Hinerupe has risen again, to care for her people; and to host us all with such generosity and style.

It is a wonderful metaphor to contemplate, as we share time together, considering the challenge of community action on youth and drugs.

For in many ways, the devastation of fire, flood and storm upon our marae, is equal to the impact of amphetamines, marijuana, alcohol and other drugs upon the potential of our people.

All of us know the tragic costs of drug and alcohol abuse upon our communities.

We understand the anger of families as they watch their loved ones succumb to addiction. We share the collective grief of families who mourn lives taken through reckless choices. We recognise the regrets of decisions made under the influence. Accidents which were preventable; injuries which could have been avoided.

But just as the descendants of Rongomaitapui came together, to rebuild and restore their marae; so too, can our communities join in our collective commitment to reduce the health and social impacts of drug and alcohol abuse.

It is about finding the hope and the resolve, like the Phoenix that rises from the ashes, to chart a new way forward.

This is what the three days here at Hinerupe are all about – collaborating and cooperating on strategies to rebuild our whanau, hapu and iwi to a position of strength.

Even in the most desperate moments of despair, Ngati Porou would never have contemplated that this marae would not stand again.

This is the site in which the bellbirds of Rongomaitapui sing; it is essential to the history and the pride of the people.

In much the same way, we can not allow the damage of drug and alcohol abuse to prevent us from restoring our homes to sites of safety; to regaining our strength and reclaiming our right to the full expression of our potential.

I believe our greatest hope lies in whanau ora – in strategies and policies which place whanau at the centre and which build on the strengths and capabilities already present in whanau.

We will not be overwhelmed by the constant focus of crisis intervention; the obsession with problems and deficits; the emphasis on deprivation and disadvantage.

Our future lies in building whanau capability, to bring out the strengths which have assisted survival; to invest in resilience.

I absolutely support the goal of Community Action on Youth And Drugs; in seeking to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities by minimising the harm caused by illicit and other drug use.

Why I support this programme is because at its very core, CAYAD is about increasing community ownership and capacity to address these issues.

This is an approach which fits well within the framework of whanau ora.

For at its very essence, whanau ora is about creating an environment where whanau strengths are endorsed, and where whanau ownership of solutions and actions is encouraged.

We all know that being told by others that they know best what works for us, has never worked, and never will.

Transformation lies in our capacity to be self-determining; to drive forward our own pathways.

For CAYAD, success is seen with a combination of community action; evidence based research of what works; appropriate cultural models and local community knowledge.

It is about having the attitude for innovation; and creating the optimum environment for change by engaging organisations and stakeholders who work together on the issue.

This is very much part of the approach that I am promoting will yield success in the pursuit of whanau ora.

We have all experienced the frustrations of a system that doesn’t work in the ways in which we know our whanau will benefit. I’m talking about services which overlap with each other; where efforts are duplicated; where there is a lack of cohesion and consistency across different government agencies.

Some of our families are opening the front door to a dozen different providers, all whom have competing checklists of activities for whanau to fulfil. Often an agency will focus on a single issue such as drug addiction in isolation of a more sustainable whanau-wide approach.

This is neither cost-effective nor constructive. Simply addressing isolated crisis as they occur, or focusing all efforts on an individual member of the whanau can only ever have limited impact.

So we are working on a new approach to the design and delivery of services to whanau – one that is motivated by better outcomes for whanau and more effective investment for Government.

I want to say, however, that while we are doing all that we can to make sure that government funded services and initiatives work more effectively for our people, that I am always conscious of the leadership already evident in our whanau, hapu and iwi.

The roles, relationships and responsibilities of whanau that have been passed down mai ra ano, will continue to inspire and sustain us, in our aspirations for our future.

Within the thirty CAYAD communities – from the Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust through to Arai Te Uru Whare Hauora - the success of interventions will be realised when whanau own and take responsibility for the solutions.

I was really pleased that in his speech on the 8th October, the Prime Minister expressed support for whanau and communities to resist drugs and to help users into recovery with a specific reference to continuing the funding for CAYAD programmes.

I understand that the recent evaluation by Litmus Limited demonstrated there are some very positive outcomes associated with this programme, as well as recommending some areas for improvement.

All of these factors – and the vital importance of meeting together in regional and national hui – has to be important in reinforcing key messages and strategies for increasing your capacity to respond.

Ultimately whether the challenge be in reducing the harm of drug use upon our communities; or whether it be in our aspirations to achieve the best outcomes for whanau; our transformation lies in ourselves.

It will not come from a Government strategy; from departmental guidelines or policy programmes – no matter how ambitious they are.

Our answers lie within ourselves; they are derived from our whakapapa; they are sourced within our tribal histories.

And so, as we gather together in the hospitality provided by the descendants of Hauiti, let us take the time to celebrate our origins; to share our visions and to work together to invest in the wellbeing of our people.