Published June 2021

In October and November 2018, the Office of the Children’s Commissioner’s Mai World team and Oranga Tamariki’s Voices of Children and Young People team, engaged with more than 6,000 children and young people, to hear their views on what makes a good life. Of the 423 children and young people we spoke to face-to-face, 175 of these were tamariki and rangatahi Māori.

The original What Makes a Good Life? report (#6187) was done to inform the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy (the Strategy), which has been designed and implemented to drive government action on child wellbeing. The Children’s Act 2014, which underpinned the development of the Strategy, includes an obligation to consult with children and young people.

This cohort summary report presents some of the key messages we heard from 175 tamariki and rangatahi Māori who participated in this engagement. Through this we heard how tamariki and rangatahi Māori envisaged a good life for themselves and their whānau, and about the barriers they face to experiencing this good life. This document aims to share the voices of tamariki and rangatahi Māori heard during the What Makes a Good Life? engagement, so that they can inform policy and practice development for services to tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The views presented here should not be taken to speak for all tamariki and rangatahi Māori. The original engagement targeted children and young people more likely to be facing challenges in their lives. As a result, many of the tamariki and rangatahi Māori we heard from through these engagements were also experiencing poverty, had contact with Oranga Tamariki, or had greater needs. (From the document). Follow the links for this summary report in Te Reo Māori and English, and for the original full report. Record #7208