Seven-year-old Moana has been with the “Smith” family for four years. She was taken from her birth mother by Oranga Tamariki at the age of 3, when she was found with rotting teeth and a club foot.
But OT then changed its mind over her custody, and decided Moana should be in the care of another Māori family as the Smiths could not meet her cultural needs.
However, the Smiths refused and, along with a lawyer for Moana, took court action to keep her in their care.
Family Court Judge Peter Callinicos ruled the child should remain in the care of her Pākehā foster parents, saying it would destabilise her development as she had bonded with the family.
The girl’s mother, OT and the proposed foster family challenged that ruling, taking their appeal to the High Court. This week the appeal judge, Justice Helen Cull, found in favour of the Smiths.
The Hawke’s Bay couple say they are happy with Justice Cull’s ruling but acknowledged the court process would have impacted all parties.
“Going forward we will continue to advocate for what is best for her in all aspects of her life - including her health, her education and her culture - as we have done ever since she came into our care.”
The couple has now asked Oranga Tamariki to step back and let them work with the Taipa’s and Moana’s mother to ensure all of the girl’s needs are met.
“So Moana can thrive from the love and support from all of us - her whānau and whāngai.” the couple said.
“Let us all raise this child out from under your microscope that we have been living under for so long - to ensure Moana’s life is as normal as possible.”
They hope they can move forward with their lives “with relative peace”.
“You asked if there are winners here? I would have to say no, there are no winners in a court case such as this - any victory is merely pyrrhic - because the costs that add up quickly are more than just financial, they can be counted in the years and months of your life that you will never get back - especially when you end up not too far from where you started from in the first place.”
They said Moana is loved beyond measure and they welcome a collaborative and community-based approach to raising a “special little girl”.
“I hope we can all have a hand in raising this special little girl, to help her grow into the amazing person we all know she will become.
“Thank you to everyone who has walked beside us throughout this - our lawyers, our own whānau and our friends - your continued support means more to us than you know.”
Oranga Tamariki told Open Justice earlier this week that they respect the decision of the court and will not be making any further comment.
