Speech: Grow Our Own Project

Grow our own project launch: Auckland AUT Manukau Campus.


Mayor Les Brown; Sir Stephen Tindall, Lady Margaret Tindall and distinguished guests.

I am so pleased to be here in the company of people of passion; people of people – and that is why we are here today. Whanau Ora is essentially about having pride in ourselves – and this project is all about that.

When I was young there were only two careers – nursing and teaching; and at that time, we got paid while we trained. Things are so different now.

In early childhood centres and schools right across Aotearoa our children are competing each other, vying to be awarded the great New Zealand Grow Off Champion.

The Grow Off competition is designed to inspire and assist all levels of schooling to start growing vegetables at school. It is a simple enough concept – ostensibly about growing kai but actually with a whole raft of broader outcomes associated with the project.

For along the way of tending their carrots and planting their beans, the children are learning about self-sufficiency, about the way in which elements of their environment interact with one another, planning to meet anticipated need.
And of course there is nothing more delectable than the sweet succulence of one’s own produce.

From Grow Off – to Grow Our Own – the concept is very much one and the same.

I am delighted to be with you today, to share in the celebration of this incredible project.

It is a project designed to Grow Our Own – to cultivate our own natural talents; to nurture and care for the growth of our own workforce, and to reap the rewards of our efforts.

Of course, growth is a characteristic that Counties Manukau has come to be known by. The population of Counties Manukau District is, in fact, growing at double the New Zealand average. I’d say there must be something in the water – except with the debate around water privatisation raging, the last thing I want to do is to draw attention to the water supply in any area.

It’s not just that the population is increasing – it’s how.

There will be significant health issues in the community that come with the population growth – but also significant opportunity with the population growth as well.

In particular, there will be large growth in the number of people aged 65 years and over, which in itself will place greater demand on healthcare services.

The Counties Manukau District population is one which is both ethnically diverse and includes communities with high levels of socio-economic deprivation.

It is, therefore, without a doubt that the forecast need over the next couple of decades will be influenced by an increasing demand for health services.

In the past the Counties Manukau District Health Board has tried a variation of the theme, Buy Your Own – or Bring Your Own – meeting workforce shortage by importing health professionals from other regions or overseas.
It has been an urgent stopgap measure but it won’t last the long term - and that is why I am so thrilled with the initiative we celebrate here today.

I want to pay a special tribute to the generosity of spirit and intent, demonstrated by the Tindall Foundation with their incredible investment of one million dollars promised to the Grow Our Own Workforce project for over two years.

Such strong support will enable the garden to grow with great gusto. Today we are planting a bumper crop for our future; a crop which only six months into the project has already surpassed the original aspiration of having 200 Maori and Pacific people involved by December next year.

The project operates on multiple levels – each of them adding substantially to the health employment horizons within South Auckland.

And at this point I want to acknowledge two key drivers in this project – Joan Withers, the Project chair; and Geraint Martin, the CEO of Counties Manukau DHB.

Both of these people have looked out beyond the scope of present realities, to take calculated risks to give people a chance not just to go through life, but to grow through life.

They have looked to their own strengths and capabilities within the local community and have made the commitment to grow our own- to invest in a workforce which reflects their population.

The project builds on their intention in a number of ways.

It has already allocated 99 scholarships to Maori and Pasifika students from across South Auckland, who have taken up study in a health discipline and have been able to demonstrate financial need, academic ability and community involvement.

Grow Our Own is also about extending and growing the Pu Ora Matatini Nursing Programme. This is a joint venture between Counties Manukau DHB and Te Kupenga o Hoturoa to address the need for more Maori primary health care nurses in this region.

The seed is planted through recruiting Maori who are currently accessing the Domestic Purposes Benefit and then supports them to enrol and complete a foundation nursing course.

What I really like about Pu Ora Matatini is that it is a course of action which provides practical support – mentoring and guidance; a programme coordinator; financial support for fees, resources, uniforms, texts, transport; or practical placement assistance.

So far so good – there are at least nine midwives and 70 nurses in the pipeline who will be supported into the Bachelor of Nursing Programme at Manukau Institute of Technology.

The third branch of Grow our Own; is the concept of Return to Practice. This is quite simply about attracting and encouraging local health professionals back into the workforce, by upskilling and enhancing competency.

And the final group of initiatives is grouped around the category “Health Could B 4 U”. A unique feature of this project is the establishment of health and science school academies within three South Auckland schools : James Cook High School; Tangaroa College and Otahuhu College.

Essentially the approach is to target a group of students, and then support them with a grouping of curriculum areas geared towards health and science – biology, chemistry, physics, statistics, and calculus.

This curriculum will be shaped by tertiary providers such as Auckland University, Manukau Institute of Technology and Auckland University of Technology; and it also bears the imprint of the Pacific Medical Association.

I want to share with us all, the rollcall of honour that describes the key stakeholders of this project.

I am reminded of the statement from Harvey Firestone – the founder of the Firestone Tyre and Rubber Company, who said, and I quote “the growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership”.

Today we celebrate the highest calling of leadership evident through the commitment and the ownership of this project by Papaarangi Reid, Elana Curtis, Naumai Smith, Junior Samuela, Sandra Wilkinson, Frank and Judy Solomon; Debbie Sorenson; Bernadine Vester; Alison Sutton, Ngaire Ashmore and Joy Williams.

These people have all invested skin in the game. They have put their hand up to link in together in a planned and integrated way. They have signed up to the partnership approach; they have made the commitment to their community; and they are willing to work more intentionally together for the prosperity and wellbeing of their collective future.

Finally, I want to commend the Counties Manukau DHB for your clear acknowledgement of your responsibilities under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to work in partnership with Maori to improve Maori health outcomes and promote the well-being of Maori living in its rohe.

In a tangible sense, you have documented in your Whanau Ora plan the need to ‘harness the collective wisdom and strength of Maori and non-Maori to make a difference’.

This is an ambitious but an admirable aspiration, and I wish you all great strength as you seek to invest in an educated and culturally competent workforce as the foundation of your community and the future of your economy.

Tena tatou katoa