Two young women who say they were abused in the care of Oranga Tamariki have called for the agency to be stripped of its responsibilities, saying resources should be managed by groups that better understand childhood trauma.
It comes as the agency told the Herald it has a “bold plan” to relinquish “at least” half of its funding to community and iwi partners.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in care’s initial mandate was to investigate abuse between 1950 and 1999. However, under pressure from survivors, its terms of reference were later changed to remove restrictions on the reporting timelines.
Trinity Green and Karah Mackie represent the only group of rangatahi who presented a joint submission to the commission about their experiences after 1999. The submission, compiled with help from care support group, VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai, aimed to fill gaps in the commission’s original scope.
“Abuse in care didn’t just magically stop in 1999,” the submission states.
The submission highlighted multiple concerns including complaints not being taken seriously and caregivers not having adequate support, and it called for the resources controlled by Oranga Tamariki to be devolved.
From the age of 8, Green said she was bounced between more than 25 different families or care homes. She said she was uplifted due to claims of family violence at home.
She was scathing of her time in Oranga Tamariki’s care.
“You are putting these kids who are feeling the most traumatised, lost and confused into these situations which is basically adult jail with no support.”
Green, who spent time at a group care home in Dunedin and later at one in Invercargill, said she was sexually assaulted at both facilities.
She said the abuse included being locked in a room where she said she was sexually assaulted by another resident, and an incident while on a supervised outing at a public swimming pool where she was violated.
She said a care manager made her feel she was to blame.
“She was just like “No it’s your fault.” I was a 13- or 14-year-old girl at that time and didn’t know any better. I didn’t have any family that I could talk to about that.”
She said she felt confused and isolated.
“It was like a jail. And a 14-year-old should not have to suffer from that. I’m not a criminal.”
She said her experience made her lose confidence in Oranga Tamariki.
“If you wouldn’t do it to your own kids, why are you doing it to our young people of New Zealand. I want to see trauma-informed caregivers; I want to see trauma-informed social workers.”
Green, now 21, has aspirations to eventually be a caregiver to offer young girls the support she says she never received.
“It could have made or broken me and, instead of letting it break me, I kind of used it as my power.”
Oranga Tamariki said its caregivers receive a “prepare to care” learning programme when they start work.
“This includes two modules that are focused on a trauma informed care response,” said Oranga Tamariki’s chief social worker Nicolette Dickson.
More in-depth programmes have been developed in response to caregivers saying they needed more opportunities, she said.
Karah Mackie, 25, finds it difficult to talk in detail about the abuse she says she endured.
“I mean, I still think I struggle to see it as something not normal. I still haven’t reached a place where I feel it’s something to talk about, I guess, because that was just life.”
She said her mother, who was also abused in state care, struggled to look after Karah and her sister.
“I went into state care aged 2. There are very few of us who made it out unscathed. There are very few of us that can look back on our childhoods and be happy about them,” she said.
By the age of 12, Karah decided she would be safer living on the streets in Napier than being in a group home.
She said she would sleep wherever she could.
“There were a lot of empty state houses in Napier back then which was helpful. There were public bathrooms,” she said.
She wanted to see Oranga Tamariki stripped of its responsibilities.
“Divesting resources from Oranga Tamariki into iwi or hapu or community-led services that actively support and enhance the lives of our young people.”
Oranga Tamariki told the Herald it has a “bold plan” to shift much of its services to other partners.
Oranga Tamariki chief social worker Nicolette Dickson said the agency has committed to moving resources to community and Māori-led approaches, aiming to have at least 50% of its funding managed by partners.
“We know tamariki do better when connections to whakapapa and community are retained,” she said.
“As Treaty and community partners are provided with the funding they need, and begin to provide care and wider prevention services, Oranga Tamariki will shift to more of a support and coordination role”.
She said the plan would be outlined in its organisational strategy which will be published in October.
Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won the best coverage of a major news event at the 2024 Voyager NZ Media Awards and has twice been named reporter of the year. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald in July 2024.