‘Attack on support for Māori’
The cuts were targeting support for Māori, the Public Service Association union said.
PSA kaihautū Māori Janice Panoho said losing the many specialist roles would have a direct impact on the kaimahi and their whānau, and the services they provided to iwi Māori and the community.
“This cut continues the attack on support for Māori health and wellbeing that is becoming a hallmark of this government’s cost-cutting drive.”
Earlier this month, Oranga Tamariki announced it was downgrading its commitment to te ao Māori and removing 21 specialist Māori roles, even though two-thirds of rangatahi and tamariki in care are Māori.
“With Māori continuing to lag behind Pākehā in a range of indicators for wellbeing and development, the government should be investing more in this critical kaupapa not less,” she said.
“The PSA will be opposing these changes.”
RNZ