Hōkai Rangi launched to underpin major change within Corrections

Hōkai Rangi will be implemented over the five-year period from 2019-2024 and contains a series of short and medium-term actions, as well as long-term outcomes and required new approaches.

Authentic co-design with Māori, incorporating a Te Ao Māori worldview, and greater connectedness with whānau are key elements of Hōkai Rangi, Corrections' new departmental strategy designed to address the long-term challenge of Māori reoffending and imprisonment.

Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis launched Hōkai Rangi at an event in Parliament this morning, saying it will underpin major transformational change within Corrections.

"The over-representation of Māori in our prisons is devastating to whānau, hapū, and iwi. Our Government is committed to taking action to fix this and with Hōkai Rangi we are making good progress on our plan," Kelvin Davis said.

"Our Corrections system has not worked for the majority of Māori. We've all seen the statistics and they are so enduring that the reality that over half of our prison population is Māori has just become a normal fact of life.

"The status quo is no longer acceptable. Hōkai Rangi is a bold and long-overdue strategy which ultimately aims to lower the proportion of Māori in Corrections care to match the Māori share of the general population."

Hōkai Rangi will be implemented over the five-year period from 2019-2024 and contains a series of short and medium-term actions, as well as long-term outcomes and required new approaches.

"There's already a lot of work underway.

"Right now we are prioritizing the delivery of a Deputy Chief Executive – Māori, a new role to ensure a dedicated Māori voice at the top table.

"In this year's Budget, we announced Māori Pathways at Hawke's Bay and Northland Region Corrections Facility – including the establishment of Whānau Ora navigators at these two prisons.

"We are actively partnering with iwi. Wherever there is a prison, my expectation is there will be a strong partnership with mana whenua.

"But perhaps the biggest change Hōkai Rangi brings is the idea that we are now going to treat the person - and not just their crime," Kelvin Davis said.

(With Inputs from New Zealand Government Press Release)