Jane Trask: Sad Oranga Tamariki case raises pertinent questions about the New Zealand we say is a safe place to raise children

A bond between a mother and baby is priceless, writes Jane Trask. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

COMMENT:

Who am I to write about sadness and loss between our most vulnerable families and Oranga Tamariki with my seemingly perfect family?

I've never experienced their services. I can't even imagine what it would feel like to have my baby taken away, to have absolutely no support at such a young age and after just giving birth.

Those moments are taonga - we can't ever get them back.

Questions have been raised on the protocols and procedures that are put in place when removing a child.

New Zealand is supposed to be a safe place to raise children and yet we have some of the highest child fatality rates from domestic violence.

I absolutely believe a mother and baby relationship is the most precious and important one for the mental, physical and emotional development of a child.

In my view, the mother in this "uplifting" situation was not a threat to her baby.

She was a young mother, yes, but she may have felt scared and alone at the sense of hopelessness in her situation.

Those two midwives were doing exactly what was needed to help support the young mother, father, baby and their extended whānau.

We must not forget that Oranga Tamariki has helped so many children and families over the years.

However, it is 2019, times have changed, and the old process isn't working as well as it should.

Let us consult with iwi and local service providers in each region and change the face and outcomes of our state based entity.

I know how I feel as a mother and the mere thought of being separated from my children would absolutely break me.

Are we doing our best to put whānau first and, where possible, have families staying together?

Watching the video play out, you can see the blatant miscommunication within the room.

You can feel the frustration of the midwives as they explain time and again alongside their lawyer the "plan" they had been privy to.

You can see the hopelessness of the young mother as she struggles to understand her rights amid the mounting confusion in the room.

The Oranga Tamariki social workers believed they were doing the right thing.

It's not about pointing blame at individual people identified in the news report. It's about raising our advocacy for families.

It's about valuing our young and most vulnerable and finding solutions to educate and support them.

Now we need to ensure that Oranga Tamariki goes through an independent inquiry to work out where these systems have failed and work to move forward with a new inclusive direction.

No one is arguing that some children in New Zealand are born needing help from state care.

But sometimes Oranga Tamariki gets this wrong and, in my view, this video from the story is an example of this.

Especially if steps were followed to ensure that this young mother had support before and after the birth of her second baby.

The nature of the young mother's first child being uplifted prompts a series of questions.

She has obviously made some serious changes in order to be able to keep her second child.

I believe a baby should remain with its mother, especially if a mother has the right support network needed to be present from day one.

This story is just so incredibly sad. New Zealand's trust in Oranga Tamariki has been somewhat damaged.

As iwi leaders call for a new national approach to find working solutions, how do we achieve this while accepting that intervention is still necessary when there are clear risks to a child's safety?

Change must start at the top, hopefully this Government reflects on the information that has come to light this past week and works alongside iwi, local communities and Oranga Tamariki to make sure that this horrific style of uplifting newborn babies does not happen again.

Jane Trask is on work experience at the Rotorua Daily Post