NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Family lawyer on Oranga Tamariki uplifts: Widespread trauma and misery

Derek Cheng
By Derek Cheng
Senior Writer·NZ Herald·
8 Nov, 2019 04:00 AM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The current problems with Oranga Tamariki and child uplifts are being called a "humanitarian disaster". Photo / Mike Scott

The current problems with Oranga Tamariki and child uplifts are being called a "humanitarian disaster". Photo / Mike Scott

The lawyer for the family in the Hawke's Bay baby-uplift case has been so inundated with traumatised Oranga Tamariki clients that she is calling it a "humanitarian disaster".

Janet Mason told the Herald she has had to start turning away clients because so many had contacted her in wake of a damning review into Oranga Tamariki's handling of a case involving a 6-day-old baby and his young mother in Hastings.

"We just have not had the capacity to take them on," Mason said.

"At a guess we have about 20 odd-clients who we are acting for in this category.

"The information I have received from clients and talking to others involved in these reviews is that the problems are widespread, and the trauma and misery caused is such that calling it a humanitarian disaster would be well warranted."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

READ MORE:
• Damning Oranga Tamariki review: Gaps in the work, poor consultation and relationships
• Punched, struck, kicked: Assaults on Oranga Tamariki staff increase
• Premium - Comment: Oranga Tamariki boss pledges openness and honesty, then undercuts herself
• Premium - Sexual grooming former Oranga Tamariki social worker sentenced to home detention

Mason said many of the clients were involved in without-notice uplifts, which is what happened in the Hastings case.

Lawyer Janet Mason is acting for the family in the Hawke's Bay Oranga Tamariki case. Photo / Supplied
Lawyer Janet Mason is acting for the family in the Hawke's Bay Oranga Tamariki case. Photo / Supplied

"They are similar to the Hastings case in that the circumstances at the time did not, in my opinion, justify the harsh response of a without notice uplift.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"In addition we have numerous anecdotal reports of unjustified uplifts."

She said the legality of Oranga Tamariki's actions would be tested in the Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry, the Family Courts, and the High Court in due course.

Her comments follow the release yesterday of an internal review into the agency's handling of the Hastings case in May.

The review showed that Oranga Tamariki relied too much on historical information, did not do enough to find out about the family's current situation, and failed to build relationships with the baby's mother and father.

Discover more

Opinion

Audrey Young: Climate change shift enhances Simon Bridges' leadership

08 Nov 04:00 PM
New Zealand

Erebus memorial site rated 'poor' by Government consultants

08 Nov 04:00 PM
Opinion

Beehive Diaries: Luxon ready for takeoff, Swarbrick's Boomer war cry, Jones' caveman moment

08 Nov 12:55 AM
New Zealand|politics

The final frontier: NZ and Japan in talks over joint space programme

08 Nov 04:00 PM

It made a number of recommendations, which have all been accepted, to increase family consultation and oversight of decisions to move children away from families and into state care.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Oranga Tamariki had failed to follow its own policies.

"That is obviously very disappointing," she told reporters this morning.

"There are no excuses to be made here. What happened in this case was found to be against the policies and processes of Oranga Tamariki,

"That's absolutely why we have needed that additional investment in Oranga Tamariki."

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is disappointed in the way Oranga Tamariki handled the Hawke's Bay case. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is disappointed in the way Oranga Tamariki handled the Hawke's Bay case. Photo / Mark Mitchell

This year's Budget put substantial money towards child wellbeing, including $524 million to implement the new National Care Standards, increase the number of social workers, and provide care packages to every child in state care.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Minister for Children Tracey Martin said the investment was part of the package to address systemic problems with Child, Youth and Family, the predecessor to Oranga Tamariki.

Asked how widespread the issues were, Martin said a paper-based review had not indicated wider problems.

The review, done by the Chief Social Worker's unit at Oranga Tamariki, looked at 153 out of 309 cases in the two years to June 2019. They were cases involving babies less than 1 month old.

It showed there were no other cases like the Hawke's Bay case, but Martin added this did not necessarily mean it was an isolated incident.

Minister for Children Tracey Martin says she would have acted on the Hawke's Bay case regardless of the media attention it received. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Minister for Children Tracey Martin says she would have acted on the Hawke's Bay case regardless of the media attention it received. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss said Oranga Tamariki was open to hearing further complaints, which would be investigated independently.

But Mason said the paper-based review was not independent.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She welcomed Oranga Tamariki's acceptance that mistakes had been made, which she said was a stark contrast to the initial response to Newsroom's story about the Hastings case in June.

"You will recall after the first documentary was released there were views expressed that those of us involved were undertaking irresponsible journalism, and irresponsible lawyering, such was the hostility and the denial from the relevant agencies and those supporting them.

"Recall the strenuous PR efforts of Oranga Tamariki and politicians saying that there was nothing wrong with Oranga Tamariki processes.

"The fact that they have done an about-turn with this particular case is welcomed and we are happy with that, but there is a long, long way to go."

Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss with Ngāti Kahungunu representative Shayne Walker at their press conference yesterday. Photo / Derek Cheng
Oranga Tamariki chief executive Grainne Moss with Ngāti Kahungunu representative Shayne Walker at their press conference yesterday. Photo / Derek Cheng

Both Moss and Martin have mentioned how the Newsroom clip was made from about 40 hours of footage. Moss called it a "significant misrepresentation" in the days after its release.

Moss did not resile from those comments when asked about them yesterday.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Martin also did not think her comments about the video warranted an apology.

"I don't believe an apology is required. I personally won't ever accept that trial by social media is the way to do care and protection in this country," Martin told Morning Report.

Moss apologised to the Hastings family yesterday and offered to make an apology in person to the mother and father.

But Mason said apologies should have been offered to some of the workers involved in the case.

"This includes the midwives, who raised the issues. They were locked out of the hospital and their swipe cards were disabled, and they were made to look unprofessional and aggressive.

"[Newsroom journalist] Melanie Reid was also subjected to attacks and criticisms of irresponsible journalism. Lastly, I was subjected to threats of contempt of court proceedings from the Oranga Tamariki lawyers at the time."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

02 Jul 04:05 AM
AucklandUpdated

Dead baby found in Auckland wheelie bin, woman in custody

02 Jul 03:57 AM
New Zealand

Motueka prepares for floods

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

From the theatre to a line mechanic: Hastings woman aims to inspire women into electrical trade

02 Jul 04:05 AM

'They just treat me like "one of the guys" but still realise I have different strengths.'

Dead baby found in Auckland wheelie bin, woman in custody

Dead baby found in Auckland wheelie bin, woman in custody

02 Jul 03:57 AM
Motueka prepares for floods

Motueka prepares for floods

'Potential to cause fatal accidents': Close to 1km of copper cabling stolen

'Potential to cause fatal accidents': Close to 1km of copper cabling stolen

02 Jul 03:43 AM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP