Te Pāti Māori Children’s spokesperson and MP for Te Tai Tokerau is calling for the Children’s Minister to resign after a preliminary report from the Waitangi Tribunal was released overnight.

“Our mokopuna demand nothing but the resignation of the Children’s Minister. Her atrocious handling and agenda to repeal Section 7AA, coupled with her failure to provide evidence, demands nothing less,” said Mariameno Kapa-Kingi.

“The preliminary Waitangi Tribunal report details what we knew to be true – that repealing 7AA under her watch will increase negative outcomes for mokopuna Māori.

“It will also mean that whānau who are trying to regain custody of their mokopuna will have no grounds for holding Oranga Tamariki accountable to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It is a shambolic ploy to disenfranchise our tamariki and perpetuate their oppression in state care.

“If her repeal is so beneficial, where is her ministry’s evidence, and why can’t she appear before the tribunal?

“Karen's own personal reflections aren’t evidence and do not justify the repeal of something so vital for tamariki mokopuna.

“She is repealing the very protection in the Oranga Tamariki Act that ensures Māori babies and tamariki raised in state care, like herself, remain connected to whakapapa and identity. With such a repeal, our tamariki will yearn for the love of their own.

National, in the last parliamentary term, voted against the repeal of 7AA. They are also on record stating that if elected into Government, they would not support a repeal.

“National has traded the wellbeing of Māori tamariki for a coalition agreement and the support of Karen and Act. Disgusted how they must feel for such compromise,” said Kapa-Kingi.

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