Te pūmautanga o te whānau

This report draws on the voices of Tūhoe and South Auckland whānau, and the hapū, iwi, Māori and community organisations working with whānau, to better understand whānau resilience and strength in the face of financial hardship and adversity.

The Families Commission carried out five case studies with 40 families and whānau in very different communities. Two of these studies were Kaupapa Māori case studies; Te Pūmautanga o Te Whānau: Tūhoe and South Auckland whānau is the report of those two studies.

The data on financial hardship come from national data obtained through the Census and the Household Economic Survey. Consequently, data on Māori in financial hardship are usually reported at a national Māori population level. If these data are presented in isolation from the stories of the people themselves, the crucial contributions that whānau and their organisations make can be overlooked. By contrast, the case studies contained in this report speak to what is working for whānau on an everyday basis.

This report was prepared for the Families Commission by Kahukore Baker, Haromi Williams and Colleen Tuuta.