Marama Davidson wants Oranga Tamariki to better serve the people it’s meant to protect: children.
Last week, the Green Party wrote an open letter calling on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to adopt seven promises to children in state care, so “no more tamariki fall into harm”.
Davidson told The Front Page that accountability was crucial and overdue.
“We have seen from the Royal Commission of Inquiry Into [Abuse in] State Care that this has long been a system failing tamariki. Unfortunately, we are still hearing today, right now, from survivors and advocates that it is still failing tamariki.
“We need a big system change. For a start, why don’t we pick up the recommendations from the report, from years and years of work receiving and hearing directly from survivors, sometimes generations of survivors?
“They did so much work. They looked at the research, the evidence, and they heard from experts about exactly how systems can properly care. They came up with ways, step by step, of what we can improve in the law, the policy, the practice,” she said.
Davidson has championed the Oranga Tamariki (Suitable Accommodation on Leaving Care) Amendment Bill, a members’ bill waiting to be drawn in the parliamentary ballot.
It would legally require Oranga Tamariki to arrange suitable accommodation for a young person leaving care.
“You would think that the least we can do for these children who have been in the system and are coming out of care is provide them with that really basic support for the rest of their lives, to be able to flourish.
“However, what we are seeing and hearing right now is that young people, even with advocates and support workers, are being told at every stop, ‘Sorry, we cannot help you.’ There is no emergency housing. There is no way of ensuring that you have an adequate income.
“At the same time, we are seeing this Government drive funding cuts to the very frontline community organisations who would try and step in and fill the gap,” she said.
Ihorangi Reweti-Peters entered the state care system at just seven months old.
At 16, he spoke about his experiences to the royal commission, chronicling abuse at the hands of caregivers and his struggles to navigate a broken system.
By that time, he’d been in seven placements in six years.
Now 19, he told The Front Page it’s been difficult leaving the care system and finding support to live independently, away from Oranga Tamariki.
“I was not prepared well to leave care. If I were prepared well to leave care, I would’ve been supported to find alternative accommodation. I would’ve been provided with financial advisers to be able to make better financial decisions,” he said.
Oranga Tamariki transition support services national manager, Sarah Ashton, said transitioning out of care can be a stressful experience.
“We offer a range of help for young people transitioning out of care and custody and into adulthood through our dedicated Transition Support Services.
“More than 1,600 young people currently receive support from community-based transition workers, contracted by Oranga Tamariki.
“Over the last year, more than 1,500 young people received support through our dedicated Transition Assistance Helpline,” she said.
On a requirement to make sure young people leaving care have suitable accommodation, Ashton said work is currently underway as part of the Oranga Tamariki System Action Plan.
“The wider issue of safe and stable housing for young people in New Zealand requires a broader system response.
“As part of this, we are working with colleagues across a number of government agencies in the housing area to improve access to housing and supports for young people leaving our care or custody.”
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The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting, who joined NZME in 2016.
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