Te Pāti Māori Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer is renewing her call for a complete overhaul of Oranga Tamariki in response to the Waitangi Tribunal’s report, released today, which found that the disparity for Māori has resulted from “a failure by the Crown to honour the guarantee to Māori of the right of cultural continuity embodied in the guarantee of tino rangatiratanga over their kāinga”.

“The Waitangi Tribunal findings prove that Oranga Tamariki has fundamentally failed to uphold its obligations to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and must be completely overhauled from the ground up,” said Mrs Ngarewa-Packer.

“It’s not surprising that the Tribunal has confirmed the need for our proposed by Māori, to Māori, for Māori approach to child protection.

“The Crown does not have the right under Te Tiriti to remove mokopuna Māori from their whānau, and yet between 2000 and 2018 the incidence of Māori aged under 16 entering state care rose from one in 125 Māori children to one in 64 Māori children.

“The greatest challenges for the Government and new Chief Executive Tā Wira Gardiner will be returning power and resources to whānau, hapū and iwi and implementing Te Tiriti o Waitangi at every level of the organisation.

“The Crown must not get this wrong again, too much intergenerational harm has already be done. Our people have the tikanga and solutions to ensure our babies are looked after – its time Oranga Tamariki recognised that,” said Mrs Ngarewa-Packer.

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