Taurikura: Water Safety in a Changing Funding Landscape
In Te Tairāwhiti, wai is part of everyday life. Our tamariki grow up near awa and moana. Building confidence and safety in and around wai is essential. This is where Taurikura comes in.
Taurikura is a whānau-centred kaupapa that supports pēpi and mātua to build confidence, pūkenga and safer behaviours in and around wai from the earliest years. It connects puna wai based learning to the taiao, to whakapapa, and to everyday life. It recognises that water safety is not a one-off lesson, but a hononga built over time.
Comet Swimming Club leads the swimming delivery, bringing technical expertise and local capability. Healthy Families East Cape (HFEC) supports the design and long-term prevention thinking behind the programme. HFEC’s role is to help align kaupapa partners, strengthen collaboration, and ensure Taurikura grows in ways that embed prevention.
This looks like shifting learning beyond the puna wai and into local environments such as the moana and awa. It looks like building hononga between organisations so delivery is shared and sustainable. It looks like strengthening local leadership so capability sits within the community, not with one organisation alone. And it looks like keeping whānau voice central as the programme evolves.
These are not small shifts. They reflect changes in how prevention is embedded locally in capability, in partnerships, and in how resources and responsibility are shared.
Nationally, the context is changing. Water Safety New Zealand has stated that “Drowning is the leading cause of recreational death in New Zealand,” and emphasises that education and prevention are proven, cost-effective approaches. At the same time, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) has confirmed its $1.1 million annual funding contribution to Water Safety New Zealand will cease from 2026. Over the past 20 years, that investment helped reduce drowning risk by 25% which is a significant public health achievement.
Recent reports show that while 2024 recorded 71 preventable drowning deaths which were the lowest in six years, early figures for the 2025/26 Summer period are tracking higher than the same time last year. Water safety leaders have warned that progress can quickly reverse without sustained focus.
Against this backdrop, Taurikura stands as a clear example of what works. Prevention does not only happen at a national level. It happens when pēpi grow confident in wai. It happens when whānau practice safe behaviours together. It happens when programmes are designed to reflect local realities and local taiao. It happens when delivery partners like Comet are strong, and when organisations like HFEC help hold the long-term prevention lens.
As funding landscapes shift, Taurikura shows that systems-led prevention is possible. It is grounded in community, strengthened through partnership, and designed to continue. This is what prevention looks like in Te Tairāwhiti. And this is why it matters.
There is more to come on this story, and we look forward to sharing updates as this kaupapa continues to grow.
References:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/583835/east-coast-drownings-prompt-water-safety-warning