West Auckland Youth Worker and founder of Warrior Kids Tim Tipene says the Kumar tragedy was preventable and calls for Health Units in Schools to prevent it from happening again.
"It is unacceptable that the Kumar family had to experience this loss, it is unacceptable that shop owners and everyday New Zealanders have to live with the threat of violence, it is unacceptable that there are children in need being overlooked and who end up becoming violent offenders," Tipene says.
There are still kids out there who are exactly the same as the two boys involved in the death of Mr Kumar.
"There are kids with the same story, same background and with the potential to make the same mistake. We need to intervene and stop this from happening again," Tipene adds.
Tim Tipene believes that there should be health units in every school throughout New Zealand where children and families can get direct assistance and that they provide weekly life-skills education geared to developing socially and emotionally competent New Zealanders.
"If the government was at all serious about addressing the alarming rate of child abuse in our country and stopping violent acts such as that with Arun Kumar, then they would be putting a lot more funding into prevention. We need to reach these kids at the top of the cliff, not the bottom," he says.