Rob Teppett

Oranga Tamariki

Kia ora comrades,

I am delighted to be elected as the Convenor of Oranga Tamariki National Delegates, and I have big shoes to fill with Shahmay Smith moving on. I have been with Oranga Tamariki (and it’s previous iterations) for almost 33 years, and worked in social work and policy related roles over this time. I bring institutional knowledge and a developed understanding of the myriad of issues that impact our clients and staff. There is much hope and expectation that Oranga Tamariki will deliver better client outcomes, and relief that we now have a government committed to resourcing public services to deliver well-being to all our citizens.

There is critical need for service development to rebuild capacity and to better respond to client need; and through our relationship agreement with Oranga Tamariki we will bring the expertise of our workers to the table to make this happen. We are proud of our pay equity settlement for social workers, which sets the bar for achieving fairer terms and conditions for all members in our diverse and multi-skilled workforce. There will be challenges, but with a great team of National Delegates and National Rūnanga Delegates, together with Oranga Tamariki management we will make a difference.

Ngā mihi
Rob Teppett
National Convenor