Oranga Tamariki

Oranga Tamariki, The Organisation that is Currently Failing Vulnerable Tamariki

Kupu & Defnitions:

Oranga Tamariki: Oranga meaning wellbeing and Tamariki meaning children

Rangatiratanga: having sovereignty, this was promised to be given to Māori in the Treaty of Waitangi

Uplift: The term for when Oranga Tamariki remove a child from their whanau/ home. This is often carried out with intentions to protect the child

Mokopuna Māori: Grandchildren, can be used to refer to children

Tangata Whenua: People of the land, indigenous people who were the original inhabitants of an area From July 2008 to now, Oranga Tamariki has uplifted 4,300 children under the age of one, of which 62% were Māori. This number may already seem high, however, it is only set to rise further and cause an even larger disproportion between the number of Māori to non-Māori within our state care system if things don’t change.

Oranga Tamariki previously known as CYF (Child Youth & Family), is the governmental organisation dedicated to ‘protecting’ vulnerable children in Aotearoa, yet the organisation is currently doing the complete opposite. Whilst there is a huge importance for an organisation like Oranga Tamariki, when the organisation is doing more harm than good then it is clear that integral change is needed. Systemic racism has been an ongoing social predicament for indigenous Māori ever since the arrival of European settlers in the early 1800s.

This racism has become so institutionalised throughout our governmental sectors and organisations that it is now heavily impacting the welfare of Māori tamariki.

Oranga Tamariki was frst established in 1999 under the name of Child Youth and Family and was then later on made a governmental agency within the Ministry for Children. The transistion to Oranga Tamariki was made in 2017 after the government fnally admitted that CYF’s performance was inadequate. Vulnerable children within the system were repeatedly ending up in homes that didn’t fulfl their needs and in many cases often resulted in deadly consequences. The fve-year mark since this transition was passed just earlier this year and while there had been hope that things would be diferent this time around, it is evident that there needs to be much more extensive change in order for things to properly improve.

There are a few key things that are wrong with the organisation. The frst one being that the number of Māori children being uplifted since the shift has been signifcantly rising. Many of these uplifts are often unethical and go against the morals that Oranga Tamariki strive for. Within less than ten years the percent of Māori/ Pacifca children who have entered state care has risen by 7%. All while the number of non-Māori entry into state care has dropped by 8%. These statistics show that there are systemic problems that run far deeper than only making surface-level organisational changes. Secondly, the treatment of children and their families in the system is astounding. Numerous families or foster parents who have either reached out to Oranga Tamariki for support or who have directly had interventions carried out by the organisation describe the actions that they take as wrongful and completely dehumanising.

“We’re a Ministry dedicated to supporting any child in New Zealand whose well being is at signifcant risk of harm now, or in the future.” Reading this on Oranga Tamariki’s homepage along with the many other inspirational goals that they ‘strive for’ makes you wonder how an organisation designed with the intent to provide protection for vulnerable children could cause such harm. There have been 18 enquiries since the establishment of the

organisation into the practises and methodology that are carried out. 18 enquiries, yet where is the change? These are enquiries that are supposed to highlight issues and promote actions to be taken, but have currently resulted in barely anything apart from a change in the organisation’s name. The lack of actions that have been taken in relation to these reports shows the amount of ignorance that Oranga Tamariki has towards the issues at hand.

The most recent review carried out by the Waitangi Tribunal has suggested the organisation needs to have a transition led by Māori for Māori through what the Waitangi Tribunal suggest to be a ‘Māori Transition Authority’. This authority would properly reform state care in Aotearoa and would have it being returned back to Māori. Rangatiratanga was an aspect Māori were promised but yet stripped of through the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. Re-establishing Oranga Tamariki would also result in Rangatiratanga being returned back to Māori, which is longer overdue. As stated by a spokesperson for the Waitangi Tribunal; “The tribunal locates the source of the disparity in the alienation and dispossession that fowed out of colonialism, and the failure to honour the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Powerless: the prominent word that so many families use when they describe their experiences with the organisation. It’s far too common to hear stories of social workers verbally abusing foster parents and families of these children to the point where they feel completely powerless in a system where everyone should feel heard. Power is everything that Oranga Tamariki holds right now. Power to enter a hospital and uplift a Māori baby right of of the delivery table without the mother having any prior knowledge. Power to place the most vulnerable children in Aotearoa in homes that threaten that child’s life. Power to absolutely destroy the

slightest amount of confdence already discriminated against minorities had in the system. Power can be such an extensive aspect in our society, but somehow it continues to end up in the wrong hands. Hands who are continuing to destroy the lives and opportunities of tangata whenua. I interviewed a spokesperson from The Ofce of the Children’s Commissioner, which is an independent entity of the Crown that work to make Aotearoa a place where all children can thrive. The ofce works alongside many other organisations, governmental departments and individuals who have powers in relation to the welfare of kiwi kids, with the aim to make sure that children in Aotearoa have adequate access to services or support. This interviewed helps to understand what relation the ofce has with Oranga Tamariki. In my interview I asked a multitude of questions surrounding the ofce’s role with Oranga Tamariki and their viewpoints on the recent backlash the organisation has been facing. I was able to gather that The Of-

fce of the Children’s Commisioner is currently the main government sector that monitors both the practises taken by Oranga Tamariki as well as the ten institutional care and protection facilities that are found around the country. At the end of June this year, a care and protection facility in Christchurch was forced to close by the government after videos showed staf within the facility tackling children who were currently in care within this facility. The Offce of the Children’s Commissioner was made aware of this footage with the Children’s Commissioner himself stating that he has “long called for care and protection residences to be phased out, saying the model had fundamental issues.”

It was made clear in this interview that The Ofce of the Children’s Commissioner does not and will not defend the actions that Oranga Tamariki has been carrying out. While I was skeptical that the ofce would defend or at the minimum not outright slander Oranga Tamariki I was rather surprised to receive a reply from them where they did just that. The spokesperson that I talked with described the importance of

“They have enough money and everything else and they will sink you. They will destroy you and your family. They don’t care.”

having a statutory role like Oranga Tamariki, but that the current system is completely failing Māori and that in the view of the Children’s Commissioner, the system

needs to be “completely transformed” in order for this to change. When I brought up statistics around how recent reports have shown such a high disproportion of Māori to NonMāori tamariki being uplifted by Oranga Tamariki, I was told “The statistics are not new and are symptomatic of a “child rescue” approach which has failed to consider a child’s right to be connected to their whanau, hapū and iwi, or how central that is to their wellbeing.” The Ofce of the Children’s Commissioner believes that there have been past opportunities for Oranga Tamariki to make sufcient changes to their system. A major one being the implementation of the Children, Young Persons and Their Families Act in 1989. However, Oranga Tamariki failed to see this and have continued to operate in a system that is built of of colonisation and supported with systemic racism. Ultimately, The Ofce of the Children’s Commissioner believes that what is currently going on inside Oranga Tamariki needs to change. It is evident that when Māori babies under 3 months of age are taken into state care at a rate fve times higher than that of non-Māori babies that systemic racism is clearly playing a major role in the practises carried out by Oranga Tamariki. However, through

my discussion with the spokesperson for the ofce, it was clear that The Children’s Commissioner is pushing for the government to commit to transferring the leadership and resources for a by Māori for Māori approach. I was told that changes to the organisation need to go well beyond a change in leadership or ‘focusing’ on Māori Tikanga and Mātauranga Māori if we expect to get things fnally right for tamariki in Aotearoa.

“The ‘child rescue’ model inherited by Oranga Tamariki has for decades failed to work for mokopuna Māori, and it never will.”

The Wider Context

It’s not just the foster care system that has been discriminating against Māori. But there has been systemic racism towards Māori throughout many government sectors and systems for decades. Society as a whole is overall systemically inclined to better of non-Māori to Māori. A clear example would be the healthcare system. Māori are predisposed from birth to experience inequalities within the healthcare sector as a whole. As a result of this Māori are far more likely to contract preventable health issues. Looking at the recent statistics surrounding COVID-19 vaccination rates, Māori are currently sitting around half of Pākehā, proving even further the disparity within the system.

A major element that results in Māori being less likely to receive adequate healthcare relates back to socio-economic deprivation which produces barriers to primary healthcare facilities and treatment. Illnesses such as rheumatic fever have for decades been attached to Māori, the disease is said to now be an exclusive disease that only afects Māori and Pasifka individuals. Rheumatic fever is an autoimmune disease that is caused when strep throat is inadequately treated. A combination of crowded housing conditions and healthcare factors that Māori often have to face is what has a major infuence on subsequently higher rates of rheumatic fever occuring in Māori. Now you may be wondering why and how some diseases relate to the is sues that are currently in discussion around Oranga Tamariki. There is a strong stereotype in our society that Māori are the ones more likely to live in lower socioeconomic status because the Māori culture is ‘lazy’ or they aren’t good parents because they are involved with gangs. But what often isn’t under-

stood is that the reasoning behind why Māori are often more likely to be exposed to lower socioeconomic circumstances is because of the bias our government has towards non-Māori. Māori end up becoming connected with gangs, because gangs are often the only ones there to support them when our government and society won’t. The example of the healthcare system heavily relates back to what is currently being seen within Oranga Tamariki, as it shows that an organisation like Oranga Tamariki is only just one aspect to the bigger problem at hand.

“Oranga Tamariki is not alone – it is one of many organisations operating within a structure that has been created by colonisation and is supported by the efects of modern-day systemic racism”

There has recently been positive actions in the healthcare system taken that look to potentially show a way forward for other sectors of our government. The recent national budget release for 2021 has dedicated a total of $1.1 billion towards Māori health, housing and other related initiatives, this is an increase of $200 million from 2020. Within this budget, $242.8 million is to be dedicated towards Māori health. A major announcement that came alongside this budget, was the news that the government has intentions to set up a Māori Health Authority separate from the current healthcare system. Our current healthcare system is heavily inclined towards westernised beliefs and practices that often result in Māori not being unable to access adequate healthcare. This new authority would help to show a new way forward for our government as a whole. The creation of a Māori Health Authority will hopefully help return leadership and control back to Māori over their hauora. Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare states that “The Authority will give Māori a voice and infuence in how our system needs to perform better for Māori.”

The End Result

This is all evidence that goes to show the extent of the amount of change that is needed in order for things to be properly improved within our society. If we expect the problems within Oranga Tamariki to change then we need to take a relook at our entire government, in particular the lack of equality resulting in Māori being left behind and essentially ‘forgotten’ about. The problems that are currently being faced highlight the major impact colonialism and systemic racism can have on indigenous communities. The development of the Māori Health Authority should be used as an example of a way Oranga Tamariki could be re-established. If done in the right way it could result in a re-establishment that is by Māori for Māori. The efects of this would greatly beneft Māori tamariki and their whanau throughout Aotearoa, ultimately returning rangatiratanga back to Māori.

This isn’t something that is going to necessarily change overnight, especially when you look at the extent of what needs fxing. You may be wondering, why does this article relate to me and why should I care? As young people, it will be up to us in the future to make substantial changes that will be long lasting. It may seem as though this issue is irrelevant to us, however, the more people that voice concerns for systems such as those inside Oranga Tamariki the more pressure that puts on our government to make changes. We need to be pushing for Individuals high up in our government to collectively take actions towards a society that provides equal opportunities for everyone and not just those who are privileged on the basis of race.

Rose Livingstone