Media Release: National Family Violence Agency Becomes Partner to the Accord
comms tehikuiwi • March 17, 2026

A Mihi Whakatau to welcome the new agency into the Accord — acknowledging the dedication, collaboration, and collective mahi that has brought us to this significant moment.

Tuesday 17 March 2026


The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention has become a Crown agency partner in the Te Hiku o Te Ika Iwi-Crown Social Development and Wellbeing Accord. The Accord was signed in 2013 as part of a Te Tiriti o Waitangi redress settlement, and through a 2018 refresh of the relationship, the Addendum was signed in 2020. This established provisions for new Crown agencies to become partners in the Accord.


Rather than addressing housing, employment, education, and infrastructure as separate challenges, the Social Accord uses a unified systems approach where every intervention creates multiplier effects across all sectors. This represents a commitment to working in partnership with Te Hiku Iwi to realise the shared vision for the wellbeing and development of our communities. This Accord establishes a framework for meaningful collaboration, consultation, and coordination between Crown agencies and Te Hiku Iwi as we work together on a journey to fulfil a Te Hiku whānau-aspired state of wellbeing.


Te Hiku o Te Ika carries some of the highest rates of family violence in Aotearoa. Te Aorerekura 2025–2030 Action Plan classifies Te Tai Tokerau, including Kaitāia, in the highest band nationally for family violence investigations: between 36 and 61 per 1,000 people (Ministry of Justice, 2023).


Since November 2017, Te Hiku Iwi and New Zealand Police have partnered through Whiria Te Muka. It was the first initiative established under the Accord. Its mandate is to work within existing systems and at the frontline of whānau harm in the Far North. In 2024–2025, Whiria Te Muka responded to 1,475 episodes of family harm involving 2,486 individuals across the rohe. Forty-four percent of all cases were managed as high risk. These realities make clear that Whiria Te Muka has significant work ahead.


“He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. These words belong to our tūpuna whaea Meri Ngaroto from Te Aupōuri, and they are the foundation of this Accord. We welcome those into the Accord who dedicate specific effort to the Te Aorerekura work.  This is the level of commitment we want to continue seeing across agencies to the shared vision of the Accord: Kia whiwhi ngā hāpori, whānau, hapū me ngā Iwi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, i te oranga tonutanga, kia rānea, that the communities of Te Hiku o Te Ika are culturally, socially and economically prosperous.”         

 — Roberta Grbich, Co-Chair, Te Hiku Iwi Development Trust / Te Rarawa Representative. 

“The Accord has been leading transformational approaches to improving the wellbeing of whānau in the rohe since 2013. It is the engine for Iwi and Crown to support and transform systems to better serve whānau. We know that family violence and sexual violence affect many people in Aotearoa New Zealand, and one of the most effective ways to address these issues is through Treaty partnership-led responses such as Whiria Te Muka. I am delighted that the Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention is working alongside Whiria Te Muka to give effect to the identified aspirations. The Centre for Family Violence and Sexual Violence Prevention CEO will join me in future Accord hui, and we look forward to making progress through the System Conditions Working Group and other Accord governance forums to achieve our shared aspiration for safe and thriving whānau in Te Hiku o Te Ika.”


— Andrew Kibblewhite, Chair, Executive Board for the Elimination of Family Violence and Sexual Violence


An independent Social Return on Investment analysis by Business and Economic Research Limited (BERL), published in August 2025, found Whiria Te Muka delivered $4.56 in social returns for every $1 invested. Based on a government investment of just over $5 million, the programme generated $62.76 million in social value for the Far North community over the four years to June 2024. Whiria Te Muka is the place-based partnership with tangata whenua that Te Aorerekura 2025–2030 Action Plan calls for.


The Accord is in its thirteenth year of mahi to provide a means for the Crown and Te Hiku Iwi to work together to achieve the shared outcomes. Its continued growth reflects the commitment of all partners to the wellbeing of Te Hiku whānau, tamariki, and communities. 


Kia whiwhi ngā hāpori, whānau, hapū me ngā Iwi o Te Hiku o Te Ika, i te oranga tonutanga, kia rānea. The shared vision is that the communities of whānau, hapū and Iwi of Te Hiku ō Te Ika are culturally, socially and economically prosperous (Te Hiku o Te Ika Iwi-Crown Social Development and Wellbeing Accord, 2013).

 

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.

With your basket and my basket, the people will thrive.

 

ENDS

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Whiria Te Muka investment in whānau harm reduction and prevention pays off four-fold

December 12, 2021
DATE: Friday December 10 2021 MEDIA RELEASE: For immediate release Whiria Te Muka investment in whānau harm reduction and prevention pays off four-fold Almost four years into the work and the Crown-Te Hiku Iwi investment in reducing and preventing whānau harm in Te Hiku is firmly in the green. A recent Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis has concluded that for every $1 invested in Whiria Te Muka, there is a $4.07 return. The findings have also affirmed that every incident of reported whānau harm in Te Hiku costs $61,627 to stakeholders. Whiria Te Muka is the NZ Police-Te Hiku Iwi partnership that was launched in 2017 to support whānau experiencing harm to move towards Mana Tangata. The analysis was completed by Business and Economic and Research Limited (BERL) and evaluated the long-term outcomes of Whiria Te Muka, including the reduction and prevention of whānau harm, a strong Crown-Iwi partnership and Mana Tangata or Mana Whānui.  Whiria Te Muka worked on 976 reported incidents in 2018, 1390 in 2019, 1631 in 2020 and 975 to August 31 this year. Although reported family harm has increased, 896 whānau have moved from high to low risk. “We have seen more whānau building confidence to ring 111 before the harm escalates. We expect numbers of whānau harm will continue to rise as our communities build more trust in NZ Police and the 111 system,” says Whiria Te Muka Iwi Co-Director Callie Corrigan. Northland Police District Commander Superintendent Tony Hill agrees that the report demonstrates that the work that Whiria Te Muka is doing is having a significant impact on whānau harm in Te Hiku. “Whilst the return on investment is extremely good, what is potentially equally as important is what we’re hearing from whānau who have been through family harm where Whiria Te Muka have assisted their transition into a place of safety. For many they have lived with family harm in their household for many years, and finally they are getting the resources and ability to be able to manage their lives in the absence of harm,” he says. Te Rarawa Chairman and Whiria Te Muka Leader Haami Piripi says the opportunities for iwi development and a prevention focus have emerged as opportunities. “This encourages more participation by another genre of stakeholders who can make a tremendous difference to the current scenario of reactionary responses by going back down the pipeline to cognitive and behavioural understanding about prevention,” he says. He adds that Te Hiku Iwi need to better understand the nature of whānau harm in Far North communities and the Whiria Te Muka evaluation has provided indicators for how well it is doing and how far there is to go. “This is so cutting edge from my point of view as a social scientist and I think it’s great. But I’m also an an Iwi leader with responsibilities and obligations to love and protect every one of them. We’ve all got a story about whānau harm and it just spreads insidiously right through the community. Ending violence in our home is what drives me,” he says. The report also looked at how the Crown-Iwi partnership is working by rating a number of critical success factors. Overall, the report concluded that Whiria Te Muka is in a unique and strong position to affect systemic change and better support people experiencing whānau harm in Te Hiku. Callie says the BERL result provides Whiria Te Muka with a whāriki or foundation to start measuring the strength of partnership. “Partnership is hard. You don’t just have a strong relationship overnight. But this helps us understand the areas we’re doing really well in, while also highlighting the areas we need to improve upon. We look forward to identifying how we can start strengthening those,” she says. The report was completed by analysing interviews with frontline Iwi and Police staff and management, as well as reviewing the unique quantitative and qualitative data that is held by Whiria Te Muka. BERL chief economist Hillmarè Schulze says a SROI model is a method for measuring values that are not traditionally reflected in a financial statement – including cultural, social, economic and environmental values. “It can identify how effectively a programme uses its capital and other resources to create value for the community. The overall objective of an SROI analysis is to measure social return on investment by documenting and evaluating the impacts of social change,” she says. However, Hillmarè adds that Whiria Te Muka cannot take credit for all of the change in whānau lives. “We know the Whiria Te Muka team is amazing, but they can’t claim to be responsible for all the impact. We know that there is a whole community of other agencies looking to reduce whānau harm. Collectively, the agencies contribute to reducing whānau harm,” she says. Callie says the report starts to provide Whiria Te Muka with the financial benefit of partnership and the financial value of cultural capital, which is often undermined in system change. ENDS For more information: Whiria Te Muka Kaiwhakapā Erena Hodgkinson erena@tehikuiwi.com 022 403 6122

Alcohol consumption leading contributor to family violence in Te Hiku during Level 4 lockdown

September 3, 2021
MEDIA RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 3 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Alcohol consumption leading contributor to family violence in Te Hiku during Level 4 lockdown Harmful alcohol consumption continues to be the leading trigger of reported family violence in Te Hiku since Level 4 lockdown. From August 18 to August 31, there were 62 reported incidents of whānau harm reported through 111 that came through Whiria Te Muka. Whiria Te Muka is a Te Hiku Iwi-NZ Police partnership that works to prevent and reduce family violence in Te Hiku while striving for Mana Tangata. Out of those 62 incidents, 18 were triggered by harmful alcohol consumption. Out of those 18 incidents, eight were triaged as high risk according to the measure used by frontline police at the time of reporting the incident. High triage family incidents can include threats of serious harm, sexual violence, strangulation, people wanted for arrest or arrested, serious psychological harm, repeat reported incidents, serious physical injuries, weapons and/or fear for personal safety. Alcohol Prevention Harm Officer Constable Rasau Kalivati believes the sale of alcohol hasn’t been restricted as much this lockdown as compared to last lockdown. "We know alcohol is a factor that exacerbates family harm. Alert level restrictions can add pressure to families, which in turn can prompt people to drink more alcohol and potentially hurt those close to them. Police are here to help, no matter the alert level. If you are in danger or fear for your safety, dial 111,” he says. There are 24 premises in Te Hiku that hold current off-licences issued by the Far North District Council. Of those, three are now selling alcohol remotely online using contactless delivery, and a further eight are continuing to sell alcohol as part of their usual grocery trade. Te Hiku Iwi Development CEO Carol Berghan says: “The fact that the sale of alcohol remotely is permitted by the Far North District Council without restrictions is hugely concerning to our iwi. What we are now seeing as a result are unacceptable and preventable reports of family violence.” Te Rarawa chairman Haami Piripi says the nature of social drinking during periods of lockdown changes drastically due to the restrictions to personal movement and what he describes as cabin fever. “It’s an uncertain time. There are so many conspiracy theories and so much misinformation out there, and the fact is that the use of alcohol is predictable because it’s the path of least resistance. I think people are probably thinking it’s a bit of a holiday, and what do you do on a Friday or Saturday? It’s a similar sort of thing, but it only brings further pressure and financial burdens,” he says. Although a believer in moderation, he says Māori in particular have an opportunity to exercise abstinence from heavy drinking during lockdown. “To have the mana to be able to say ‘no’? There’s mana right there. That in itself is the sort of thing that Māori men in particular need to have in our lives, otherwise we don’t feel fulfilled. Kua nawhe. That’s enough,” he says. Aside from lockdown periods, Whiria Te Muka data shows that alcohol is usually the largest recorded trigger of family violence. In the six months between Jan 1 and Jun 30 2020, it attributed to the 20% of all reported whānau harm in that time. Only 24% of all family violence is reported via 111.
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