Let's cross live to Wellington now
to speak to Whanau Ora Minister and Youth Minister Peeni Henare.
PM Jacinda Ardern is speaking on your plans
to help children in poverty soon.
What will be in that policy?
The first thing will be to lay out the wider plans of our government
to uplift our children out of poverty.
The main plans ahead of us
is to solidify some of these policies in law
and from there the public can analyse what we are doing.
Secondly, what we want to do
is to get the full support of the government
and get all the parties involved in everything to do with our children.
One of the things your party
was wanting to achieve in the first 100 days in government
was to audit Whanau Ora and find more funding to spread it further.
Have you guys achieved that?
What we wanted to do in the first 100
was to prepare to audit Whanau Ora.
And yes, I can say to everyone that we have done that
and have placed it in front of the ministers of this parliament
and from there the group
can discuss and work out the audit of Whanau Ora.
I can say will achieve this within six or seven months.
And then afterwards,
we can set in place a new budget to support it.
On Thursday the PM will arrive in Waitangi to hui with iwi leaders,
Maori Wardens and various other Maori groups.
What are some things she will discuss with them?
First off, she will assure them that we are here for them.
We are a new government and we want to work together
to listen to them and to tell these Maori groups
about what the plans within government are.
But the number one thing will be to sit together,
face to face to discuss all topics.
We know from months just gone,
that the iwi leaders and the government
haven't always seen eye to eye.
What we want to do is sit together and discuss this.
We have spoken to committee members and chairs for Te Tii Marae.
According to them,
the marae is available to welcome the PM if that's what she wants.
We know she will be welcomed on to the House of Assembly this year.
But will she go to Te Tii? And if not, then why?
The PM will not be going to Te Tii Marae this year.
We have told the people of Te Tii
that we are wanting to work together,
and maybe in the years to come we will return Te Tii.
The Whare Runanga and organising committee of Waitangi
wanted to welcome the PM
and she agreed while all are invited to attend at the Waitangi grounds,
but we will see in the week to come.
Thank you for your time, Peeni.