Te Pātaka Whaioranga

Te Pātaka Whaioranga, ‘the storehouse of wellbeing’, sums up the part we play in managing and safeguarding something that is valuable to our whole community – the pursuit of wellbeing. The name was gifted to Pharmac by our late kaumātua, Bill Kaua ONZM.

A pātaka has many literal and metaphorical associations in te ao Māori. It refers, literally, to the raised platform for food storage and protection of taonga and is also a symbol of safeguarding things that are precious to the community.

In Pharmac’s context, the concept of the pātaka symbolises a solid and reliable structure safeguarding the continuous flow of supplies, such as medicines and medical devices, and it’s our role to keep the flow constant and maintain availability for the benefit of all New Zealanders.