Merepeka: Forum for my thoughts only

Merepeka Raukawa-Tait wonders if her work during the past 20 years dealing with family violence has made any difference given children are still being killed regularly, like Moko Rangitoheriri from Taupo.

I can tell when people are disappointed when I say no. They get huffy.

I rarely, if at all, have used my weekly opinion piece in this newspaper to write about something, someone has asked me to.

Often these would be worthy stories to be told or revealed. But not by me. Usually someone has a reason for wanting to make an issue public. For it to be more widely understood perhaps. But I have found that these are often complex issues. And most times there are always two sides. When you press to hear the other side that's when things take a turn. "That's not what I want you to write about." I'm sure it's not. So I just leave it alone.

I came in for quite some criticism over Moko. "You know this area, why aren't you writing about this tragedy and lobbying for longer sentences"?

I am one of a handful of New Zealanders who have written, spoken about and appeared regularly on TV on child abuse and domestic violence over the past 20 years. Now that there is a heightened awareness among the general public and media, I'll leave it up to others to apply their thinking, writing and solutions to this sad subject. Sometimes I have wondered if my work in this area has made a blind bit of difference. The killing of children still occurs with monotonous regularity.

This year in particular I have been repeatedly asked to write to counter, and bring some balance, to the plethora of negative letters that get printed in the paper about the council? Why would I bother? The writers may be misguided, uninformed or self-serving but hey, everyone's entitled to their opinion. In some instances I even agree with a few of their points. We are a diverse community so you will get myriad views expressed. But I do know that, over time, people weary of those who constantly harp on about what's wrong. Working to develop long-term solutions, to bring about effective change, is far more rewarding.

I have been taken to task by Maori too. I am told I should use my weekly piece to highlight the many and varied positive Maori stories out there that rarely see the light of day. But I believe these stories are being told and through a number of media today. Young people, in particular, use social media all the time. If you want to reach young Maori you wouldn't think of using any other channel. The Maori economy is growing in leaps and bounds and this is being heard where it matters. And Maori leadership is playing its part in setting the future direction of New Zealand too. Those who are interested, want and need to know what's happening in the Maori space make it their business to find out. And if you want to report on things Maori, you have to be in the loop and well connected.

The one area I have often wanted to write about but haven't, is in the area of health. Being on the Lakes District Health Board has been an eye opener. We are so preoccupied with the "bottom line". And that's understandable. It is so important for health dollars to be spent wisely. But we have significant health issues in our district and the dollars don't stretch far enough. You have to prioritise and this can sometimes seem unfair. I don't agree with having National Health Targets set for the whole country. In my view some are relevant, and meaningful, others are not. Getting people in and out of A&E within six hours might seem laudable but how many are readmitted within a week? You don't get told that figure. Districts vary and health targets should be meaningful and measurable locally. Measure what matters. With half of all health boards starting their financial year in deficit, at least Lakes District Health has company. But hardly a desirable state to be in.

I realise you can't please everyone. If I was to write what people want me to, something would definitely get lost in translation. You can't put words into someone else's mouth. Not mine anyway.