This is despite fewer children being taken into care.
It makes me wonder just how these children got their injuries.
Yes, they could have fallen over, or fallen off playground equipment, but unexplained brain injuries don't just happen.
There was Nia Glassie, 3. Among the atrocities she was subjected to, she was kicked in the head, jumped on, spat on and shoved into piles of rubbish.
There was Moko Rangitoheriri, also 3, who was picked up and dropped face-first on the floor, sometimes repeatedly.
Two of the worst cases of child abuse in New Zealand history. They died at the hands of people who should be loving them and perhaps they would have lived if Oranga Tamariki had intervened.
It was too late for them. But it's not too late for others.
There are many reasons Oranga Tamariki uplifts children, violence is just one of those.
And while Oranga Tamariki wants to prevent children going into state care as much as possible we also need to make sure domestic violence doesn't have the worst result.
Many parents would have grown up in a time where smacking for discipline was legal. It isn't any more. And even if it was, it was never legal to the extent brain damage would be caused.
Under what circumstances is it ever okay for an adult to hit a vulnerable child?
It seems the horror stories of children like Moko and Nia, who were subjected to violence and incapable of defending themselves, are not making a difference.
Things need to change before other lives are lost.
And it's not just children. There is domestic violence. Some people think it is okay to physically abuse their partners. Again, if it is not acted on, it could result in death.
The message is simple: Family violence is not okay. Ever.
