October 30, 2020
Oranga Tamariki roots in assimilation policies
A former state ward says Oranga Tamariki carries within it the whakapapa of a global project to assimilate indigenous populations.
Dr Rawiri Waretini-Karena spoke yesterday to the Waitangi Tribunal’s kaupapa inquiry into the child protection agency.
He says the current Oranga Tamariki Act is a clear descendant of the United Kingdom’s Neglected and Criminal Children’s Act of 1867 which set the template for the countries Britain colonized.
"They knew they couldn't change the mindset of the indigenous people they were colonising so they actually went after the children. I've seen research by Andrew Armitage who compared assimilation policies in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, so they went after the children because they wanted to focus on assimilating indigenous children to western world views," Dr Waretini-Karena says
He says Oranga Tamariki and its predecessors like the Department of Social Welfare and Child, Youth and Family Services have had a hugely detrimental influence on Māori families across generations.
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