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March 23, 2022
Oranga Tamariki slam gets snappy comeback
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On March 23, 2022
Download AudioNgā Māia Māori Midwives Aotearoa chief executive Jean Te Huia says the Government needs to stop pretending Oranga Tamariki is working.
Ms Te Huia, who shot to national prominence when she helped coordinate efforts to stop the uplift of a pepe from Hawke’s Bay Hospital, says despite multiple reviews of the child protection agency and its predecessors, little has changed.
She says the government’s response to criticism was to appoint another Māori advisory committee.
“I believe the Government needs to step back, stop pretending they are doing a good job and stop pretending the $4 billion a year they are spending on this is going into the right pockets and into the right places, because it is not,” Ms Te Huia says.
But the chair of the ministerial advisory group on Oranga Tamariki says critics of the agency need to stop taking potshots and acknowledge change is happening.
Matthew Tukaki says under Minister for Children Kelvin Davis and acting chief executive Chappie Te Kani a huge amount has already been done, and a new leadership team should be unveiled in the next few weeks.
They’re trying to fix a system that has been broken for a long time, and that won’t happen overnight – but unlike previous efforts at reform, his group’s report hasn’t been swept under the rug.
He doesn’t know where Māori Midwives head Jean Te Hira gets the figure of $4 billion for child protection.
“The budget for Oranga Tamariki is just over $1.3 billion and by the time these reforms are over a vast chunk of that money will be devolved into the hands of the very front line organisations that you would expect, to ensure they are doing the job to cut the number of children coming down the line,” Mr Tukaki says.
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