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
