Ko Tū koe, ko Rongo koe, ko Tāne koe.
Ko te iwi whānui koe kua tākina atu e tēnei reo. E ngā mana tangata, e ngā karangaranga maha, huri noa i te motu.
Tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou kotahi katoa.
We all have an important role in keeping the public safe through our work in ensuring sentence compliance and reducing re-offending – particularly for Māori offenders.
There are positive signs of improvement across a number of social and economic outcomes for Māori individuals, Māori whānau and Māori communities that will positively effect our environment over the long term.
We have also done well over the past years through previous strategies and consultation documents such as ‘Let Māori take the Journey’. These have helped us to set strong foundations from which further gains can be made to improve outcomes for Māori offenders, their whānau and communities.
But there is still a long way to go and this strategy will help us get there.
Māori offending is going to be a major area of emphasis over the next five years. We cannot be complacent about the effect Māori offending has on Māori communities and on wider society.
Each group and service will contribute to the Māori Strategic Plan through the development of annual group and service business plans.
I look forward to seeing your commitment to this plan reflected in those annual business plans as we move forward through the next five years.
We will need all of you to focus on and contribute to ‘succeeding for Māori offenders’ to make a real difference.
Barry Matthews
Chief Executive