Te Urewera - DOC Tūhoe Partnership wins Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2017

Te Urewera - DOC Tūhoe Partnership won the Prime Minister’s Award at the Deloitte IPANZ Public Sector Excellence Awards 2017, held in Wellington last night.

The judges said that this programme was, “An excellence initiative, demonstrating a transformation in the relationship. Most notably there were no direct examples to draw on anywhere in the world - that is true innovation.”

Working collaboratively, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Tūhoe implemented ground-breaking new Treaty settlement legislation, which granted Te Urewera legal personhood. The former national park, comprising over 2,000 square kilometres of native forest, has the same rights and powers as a citizen – a first for New Zealand. This has led to more Tūhoe employed in Te Urewera, more visitors to Te Urewera, and innovative DOC practices, including secondments with Te Uru Taumatua.

The Programme also won the Crown-Māori Excellence Award, by demonstrating how Crown and Māori can work together in the spirit of true partnership.

IPANZ President John Larkindale said, “The annual Public Sector Excellence Awards recognise and reward outstanding performances and achievements in the New Zealand public sector.

“This year the Awards attracted a good number of entries from a large range of organisations. The winning and nominated projects show that public sector innovation is making a real difference to the lives of New Zealanders.”

Deloitte CEO, Thomas Pippos, congratulated all this year’s winners and finalists.

“New Zealand is a great place to live, and the public sector is an important contributor to our collective success. It’s also a key partner in efforts to address the challenges that threaten our Kiwi way of life. The individuals, teams and initiatives recognised by this year’s awards represent the very best of this vital work.”

The winning organisations across the ten Award categories were: The Department of Conservation and Te Uru Taumatua, New Zealand Police, Department of Internal Affairs, Ministry for Primary Industries, Commission for Financial Capability (two awards), New Zealand Customs Service, The Treasury and Radio New Zealand.

The Young Professional of the Year Award went to Genevieve Rainey, formerly a lawyer with the Department of Conservation. She will receive an all-expense paid trip to attend a one-week leadership course run by the prestigious Mt Eliza Business School, in Melbourne.

View details on all of the 2017 Award winners.

Media contact: Margaret McLachlan, Communications Manager IPANZ P 04 463-6940, 027 2478047