The Children’s Commission has urged Oranga Tamariki to establish a protection system using a by-Maori, for-Maori approach.
Today, Children Minister Kelvin Davis announced a four-person advisory board to ensure the government fixes the child care and protection system.
Assistant Maori Commissioner Glenis Philip-Barbara said the changes needed for Oranga Tamariki go beyond a change in leadership and the review of care and protection, Te Kuku o te Manawa, which allows mokopuna Maori to be both safe and with their wider whanau.
“Maori have been calling for a total transformation of care and protection for decades,” Ms Philip-Barbara says.
The child rescue model by Oranga Tamariki doesn't work, which leads to tamariki and pepe separared from their whanau, identity and culture, she says.
“The experiences of whanau Maori have been well-documented, including in the two reports of Te Kuku o te Manawa.”