14617 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister for Whānau Ora

14617 (2025). Debbie Ngarewa-Packer to the Minister for Whānau Ora: Who, if anyone, made the final decision as to which submitters would progress past the RFP stage in the Whānau Ora procurement process?

Hon Tama Potaka: Consistent with principles of good contract management, I directed my officials at Te Puni Kōkiri to begin a procurement process for Whānau Ora commissioning services because the current contracts had been in place for more than ten years. Decisions on some specific aspects of the procurement process, such as selecting preferred respondents from the RFP process, have been made by the Secretary for Māori Development under his delegations. I understand that, for example, evaluation panels were used in the procurement process to assist informing decisions.