July 05, 2023
Borstal protest symptom of broken system
A Flaxmere kaumatua who’s fostered 200 at-risk tamariki says the most common reason why Māori rangatahi end up in secure care or prison is lack of good parenting.
Henare O’Keefe says in many cases parenting is almost impossible because whanau are so broken.
He says recent incidents at youth facilities in Auckland and Christchurch – where young men climbed onto roofs in protest is a distraction from the real issues.
Prisons don’t address and can’t help with the root causes of poverty and dysfunction which lead to bad parenting.
“All that behaviour, everything – whether it’s up on the roof whatever – that is a symptom! We’re not drilling down. It takes time to unpack and re-pack! It takes time – it’s not going to happen overnight. I’m the ambassador for the prison here in Hawke’s Bay… if prison was the answer, that damn place be empty,” Mr O’Keefe says.
From his decades of experience, he’s seen that joining a good church can also make a huge difference for many.