Puao-te-ata-tu addresses institutionalised racism within DSW. The Ministerial Advisory Committee who wrote it were to advise the Minister of Social Welfare on the most appropriate means ‘to meet the needs of Maori in policy, planning and service delivery in the Department of Social Welfare.’ The Committee to have particular regard for: Māori client needs; establishing effective contact with tribal groups; appropriate direction of programmes to meet community and client needs; possibilities for decentralisation and devolution; appropriate requirements and mechanisms for accountability; achieving attitudinal change; and appropriate public relations for the exercise. The report urges major changes in policy formation, service delivery, communication, staffing, and training in order to combat the institutional racism that exists within DSW and New Zealand society as a whole. These issues are discussed within the context of attacking all forms of cultural racism in New Zealand by – among other things – incorporating the values, cultures and beliefs of Māori in all policies developed for the future of New Zealand. The Committee’s recommendations focus on initiatives for ‘re-building the basis of independent Maori society’ and addressing structural imbalances and injustices, including the Maatua Whangai programme that centres Māori children and their familial relationships.