Former children’s minister Tracey Martin says section 7aa of the Oranga Tamariki Act has helped to link tamariki in state care with whanau, hapū and iwi.
The Waitangi Tribunal is hearing a claim against the repeal of the section which sets out the responsibilities of the chief executive in relation to the Treaty of Waitangi.
The repeal is driven by ACT, which included it in its coalition agreement with National, but the High Court has ruled ACT MP and current minister Karen Chhour doesn’t have to explain her reasons to the tribunal because cabinet signed off on the decision.
Ms Martin says 68 percent of children in state care have historically been of Māori descent.
“(Section) 7aa, introduced by Anne Tolley, a minister in the National Government, is the circuit breaker that will change that. If we want to change that. If we want to change what the outcome are for Māori children coming into state care then 7aa is the circuit breaker that will do that and has been proven to do it,” she says.
