About Te Mana Pūtahi
Te Mana Pūtahi is the collective voice of kaimahi Māori working across the addiction, health, and social care sectors throughout Aotearoa. We exist to advocate for our workforce and strengthen the leadership of those who support whānau and hapori Māori every day.
With a strategic focus on the addiction sector (alcohol, drugs, and gambling), and expanding across health and social care, we create opportunities for connection, shared learning, and collective influence. We support kaimahi Māori to shape solutions, drive change, and improve outcomes for whānau and future generations.
Our vision is a thriving workforce where empowered kaimahi Māori lead transformative health and social care solutions that uphold mana motuhake and strengthen the wellbeing of whānau and communities.
Background Mahi
Over the past two decades, the Māori health and social care workforce has grown significantly, more than doubling in size between 2000 and 2020. Despite this growth, there has been no single, nationally recognised body representing the non-regulated Māori workforce, creating a critical gap in leadership, advocacy, and support for an essential part of the sector.
While system reviews have highlighted the underrepresentation of Māori across parts of the health workforce, sector insights point to a workforce rich in innovation, expertise, and lived experience, particularly within the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) sector. At the same time, ongoing challenges such as inequitable pay, workforce burnout, and funding pressures continue to impact the ability to attract and retain kaimahi Māori.
Without a unified national voice, Māori perspectives have not always been consistently reflected in policy and decision-making. This has limited opportunities to strengthen collective leadership, influence change, and support the long-term development of the workforce.
For more than 20 years, there have been ongoing calls to establish a formal network that supports and connects the Māori health and social care workforce. The karanga to create a new peak body for the AOD sector, arising from the Oraka Ararau pre-Cutting Edge hui in October 2021, builds on this longstanding kaupapa and reflects a shared moemoeā for stronger Māori leadership and a unified voice across the sector.