Almost 200 whānau gathered at Te Māhurehure Marae in Tāmaki Makaurau on Monday morning to welcome Te Ropu Poa (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa) into her new role as chief executive of Rangitāmiro - the newly formed Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency for the upper North Island.

Rangitāmiro covers the country’s largest Whānau Ora region, stretching from Te Tai Tokerau to Taupō. Poa steps into the role following over a decade of leadership in the Māori health sector, including 13 years as CE of Te Hauora o Ngāpuhi.

“E hari ana tōku nei ngākau, i te mea kua tae mai ngā rangatira o Te Tai Tokerau ki te kōrero, ki te whakarongo ki ngā āwangawanga o tātau.”

The pōhiri brought together leaders from across Te Tai Tokerau such as Pita Tipene, Aperahama Edwards, Huhana Lyndon, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and many from the wider health sector, acknowledging Poa’s journey and contribution to Māori health, and the start of a new phase for Māori-led health commissioning in this takiwā.

“He mea nui tērā kia mahi [tahi] tātau, Te Kahu o Taonui, ngā iwi o Te Tai Tokerau me ngā waka o Tainui o roto o Tūwharetoa me Tāmaki hoki.”

‘Mana motuhaketia tō hauora’

Poa says the biggest issues facing Māori health are still grounded in the realities that whānau face every day.

“[Ko] ngā wero taimahatanga mō ngā whānau, ki te [whakakotahi] ki te tiaki tētahi ki tētahi i roto i ngā hapori, i roto i ngā hapū me ngā whānau. Ko tērā te mea nui ki a au. Me patua te kino i te aroha.”

Poa says she looks forward to working alongside those who are just as passionate about providing better healthcare for this rohe.

“E hīkaka ana ahau ki te mahi tahi ki [ngā] tāngata e tiaki ana [i] te whānau,”

Many kaikōrero spoke to whakapapa, highlighting Poa’s strong connections across Te Tai Tokerau, reinforcing her commitment to serve her people.

Among them, Ngātiwai’s Aperahama Edwards reflected on the recent kauhau of Te Arikinui Kuini Ngā wai hono i te po, where she stated - mana motuhaketia tō hauora – urging whānau to take sovereignty over their own health and wellbeing.

Poa is committed mana motuhake solutions for Māori health.

“Ko te kotahitanga o ō tātou hapū i roto i tēnei mahinga o te Kāwanatanga, ko Whānau Ora tētahi o ngā vehicles kia haere tonu mātau ki te awhi, ki te tautoko, te tiaki, te manaaki i o tātau tamariki, mokopuna.”

Rangitāmiro is one of four new agencies under the Whānau Ora 2.0 model, bringing together leaders from three Crown-established Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards and trusts - the National Hauora Coalition, Te Tiratū and Ngaa Pou Hauora o Tāmaki Makaurau.

Though new to the role, Poa’s leadership in Far North health has given her a strong sense of the system’s gaps and kaupapa Māori solutions.

With her mokopuna in her arms, Poa says her priorities and focus is on intergenerational wellbeing.

“I tēnei wā ko ngā mokopuna te take tuatahi, me ngā kuia, kaumātua. Horekau au e mōhio, nō te mea he mahi hou tēnei ki a au, engari me tētahi wā i tae mai, me kōrero mātou anō mō tērā taumahatanga i roto i te iwi Māori.”