Te Roopū Whakahaere o Whare Tukutuku
Last Updated July 2026
Tuari Potiki (Chairperson)
Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu
Tuari affiliates to and is a member of six of the seven papatipu rūnaka in the Otago/Southland region; Ōtākou, Puketeraki, Awarua, Waihōpai, Hokonui and Ōraka/Aparima.
Tuari has been extensively involved in the Māori health, mental health, education, and justice sectors for more than 25 years. He has worked in a number of different roles as a Māori alcohol and drug clinician and tutor before moving into management roles in both the public and non-government sector. From 1994 – 1997 Tuari managed the Taha Māori programme at Queen Mary Hospital, Hanmer Springs before moving to the Community Alcohol and Other Drugs Service in Christchurch where he helped establish a Whānau Clinic for Māori clients and a Māori methadone programme. From 2012 to 2023 Tuari was the Director of Māori Development at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka University of Otago. Tuari is Chair of the Whare Tukutuku Roopū Whakahaere and a member of the Te Rau Ora board of directors. He is also Chair of the New Zealand Drug Foundation and is a Board member of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.
Dr Vicki MacFarlane
Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Pikiao
Dr Vicki Macfarlane was born in Tamaki Makaurau, New Zealand, graduated from the University of Auckland in 1989, and completed a Fellowship in General Practice becoming a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners in 2004. In 2011 she commenced working with the Community Alcohol and Drug Services in Auckland and training in Addiction Medicine with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She became a Fellow of the Chapter of Addiction Medicine in 2015. From 2011 until 2022 she was the Lead Clinician of the Medical Detoxification Services providing clinical leadership for both a community detoxification service and an 11-bed inpatient unit at Pitman House in Pt Chevalier. In 2022 the in-patient unit moved to Auckland City Mission Home Ground and Dr Macfarlane continued to provide leadership to the unit working closely with ACM social detox.
Dr Macfarlane is the NZ representative on the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine(AChAM) Committee and the AChAM training committee. She is on the Roopu Whakahaere for Whare Tukutuku, the National Māori Addiction Centre. She is also a member of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and Other Drugs, Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa-Maori Medical Practitioners’ Association and Addiction Medicine Aotearoa.
Vicki loves working in addictions; the challenges, the privilege of being part of people’s lives and the opportunity to work with wonderful caring colleagues who share the same vision of what good care is. Vicki continues to strive to be the best doctor and to provide the highest quality care with compassion and kindness.
Gilbert Taurua
Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Pāmoana and Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kāwa
Gilbert has 30 plus years’ experience working across the broader health, social services, education and justice sectors. Half of which he has held in senior Māori roles both in community and statutory sectors. Gilbert has worked at an executive management level within DHBs and understands the dynamics between quality clinical care within a changing fiscal environment. He has significant governance experience, including policy, practice, research and evaluation.
Some of his previous roles include; Principal Advisor Māori New Zealand Drug Foundation, National Māori Manager for the Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, Director Māori Health with the Whanganui District Health Board, Chief Māori Strategy and Improvement Officer with Southern District Health Board and WellSouth Primary Care Network. He most recently left his interim role as CEO at Awarua Whānau Services and is now interim CEO with Ngāti Porou Oranga.
Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen
Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Hinerangi
Rawiri is a respected leader in hauora Māori whose career reflects a deep commitment to health equity and community wellbeing. A General Practitioner with extensive experience across primary care and national health leadership, Rawiri has dedicated his mahi to improving outcomes for whānau through both clinical practice and system-level transformation. A former Māori language resource teacher, Rawiri completed his medical training at Middlemore Hospital in 2000 – his second attempt at Medical School after pausing his studies to be an activist and protestor in movements for Māori land, Māori language, a Nuclear Free Independent Pacific, and the 1981 Springbok Tour. He later provided clinical teaching, Te Reo Māori, and tikanga Māori programmes for Māori health professionals nationwide, with particular focus on communicating health information to underserved communities.
Rawiri’s leadership roles have included Clinical Director of the National Hauora Coalition, Clinical Director at Papakura Marae, Senior GP at Te Whare Hauora o Raungaiti, and contributor to school-based health initiatives aimed at eliminating rheumatic fever. He is the former Chief Medical Officer for Te Aka Whai Ora and a national Māori health leader throughout the COVID-19 response.
Rawiri is currently Chief Clinical Officer for the Tūwharetoa Iwi Māori Partnership Board, interim Medical Director for Ngāti Porou oranga, a GP with Tend in Tāmaki Makaurau, and a Roopū Whakahaere member with Whare Tukutuku.
Selina Elkington
Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Kuia
With a long history of working in the addiction sector, and her own experiences of growing up in Aotearoa, Selina has developed a deep passion for supporting individuals on their journey to recovery. Her career has been dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of those affected by addiction and to continue supporting the professional development of people working with people.
Selina has been at Te Pou since January 2023 as Programme Manager Addiction, sitting within the Practice team. Previously, she has held roles at Ōtākou Health – Tiaki Taoka, Operations Manager at Nova Star, Christchurch. She has been an addiction practitioner for many years and is a Registered Practitioner and Accredited Supervisor.
Selina has seen the devastating effects that drugs and alcohol can have in people’s lives and the significant role that trauma plays in this. Selina feels really privileged to work in kaupapa that can support and create change. She believes in working with the potential of people to promote whānau ora and in doing this you have to be living the life and walking the talk.
Dr Mike Ngawati
Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine
Mike is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical lead for Te Atea Marino Māori addictions service, as well as being the current clinical director of Whītiki Maurea Maori Mental Health and Addiction Services Waitemata – Te Whatu Ora.
He has a passion for working in the field of Māori addiction treatment and working towards improving equity in access and service provision for Māori tangata whai ora and their whanau within the addiction sector and secondary mental health services.
Kristen Maynard
Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ruapani
Kristen Maynard works as a policy and research consultant, primarily in the alcohol harm reduction space. Prior to this she worked for over 20 years in a variety of public service policy and leadership roles. Kristen is a member of several boards and committees, including the Health Coalition of Aotearoa Board and its alcohol expert advisory group, and the International Indigenous Drug Policy Alliance. She has a bachelor of arts and a law degree from Otago University, a PhD in public policy from Victoria University of Wellington, and is a qualified Fractology practitioner and holistic life coach.
