East coast groups oppose DIA plan to disestablish local community adviser roles
East Coast groups say Department of Internal Affairs regional community advisers are “invaluable to our communities” as the public service department proposes slashing the roles.
The Community Operations – Hapai Hapori department delivers grant funding to community groups, iwi projects, charities and marae. Local community advisers guide these groups through funding rounds and help with applications.
Under the proposal – shared with Newstalk ZB last week – 16 regional offices will be consolidated into three offices in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington.
Seventy community adviser roles will be disestablished and reduced to 40.
The Public Service Association (PSA) understands two of the adviser roles proposed to be cut are based in Tairāwhiti.
The move could leave regions, including Gisborne, without on-ground community advisers.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) wrote that there was increasing demand for “digital solutions and self-service approaches alongside more traditional approaches of engagement”.
However, East Coast communities said on-the-ground advisers supported and advocated for rural communities.
Te Horo Marae, a 130-year-old marae in Ruatōria, received a $299,350 Oranga Marae grant during the 2025/26 funding round for restoration and repair work.
Lilian Tangaere Baldwin, a spokesperson for the marae, said she was concerned about applicants being “lumped together”.
“[There’s] going to be a huge impact. We’ll see less development [in the region]. I can see it happening… we’ve had so much taken away from us on the Coast.”
“Can you imagine us [Te Horo marae] there, being three sites across the country? … little groups are going to miss out because we’re competing against our national groups.”
Tangaere Baldwin said support from on-the-ground community advisers had “made a tremendous difference across the years”.
“Without their support, I think many of our marae and sports groups and other community groups would not be where they are today.”
The potential loss of relationships between advisers and applicants was also a concern. Advisers travel up the Coast to meet with more remote communities, building trust over time.
“You can tell, first thing, looking them in the eye whether they care or not. It makes the difference.”
In a statement, community leaders in Ngāti Porou and Tangaere Baldwin wrote that the current regional service was “invaluable to our communities”.
“After cyclones Gabrielle and Hale, it was the people who already knew our communities who could move quickly and help us recover. You cannot build that from a call centre three regions away,” they said.
“These proposed changes are asking isolated communities to carry more of the cost of reaching government at the very time government should be reaching out to us.”
Gisborne-based architecture firm Architects44 has worked on church and marae renovation projects across the East Coast for the past 25 years, including Te Horo Marae.
The firm said most projects were made possible through Hapai Hapori grants and meetings with community advisers from Wairoa or Gisborne. It wanted the proposal to be paused and reconsidered.
Dan King, a company director at Architects44, said local community advisers “fight for us”.
Projects in remote areas could cost up to 50% more than in urban areas because of travel and contracting costs, he said. A local adviser who understood the context of the project was crucial for a successful application.
“When you send a tender through to the national body for assessment, they just go, ‘oh, these costs are out the gate, it’s ridiculous’.
“Without any kind of internal support from a local DIA officer that says ‘no, [these prices are] legitimate, these prices are not outrageous, this is what it actually costs to build in these remote areas’… we’d never get through, we’d never get any funding."
Alongside the PSA, Architects 44 “strongly opposes” the proposal.
“A one-size-fits-all approach does not work. The way that we live, the way that we do things, our cultural values out in the provinces are different to those who live in the city,” King said.
Responding to these concerns, a DIA spokesperson said the proposed changes would maintain a regional presence and on-the-ground Hapai Hapori community advisers would be working across the country.
“DIA is actively engaging with staff to consult on the proposed changes. Until decisions are made, we are unable to comment on this further.”
Consultation closes on October 8. The final decisions will be announced on October 21.