Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception.

“Severe neglect and tremendous incompetence have completely consumed this Government’s approach to our tamariki. Minister Chhour is attempting to use a mixture of smoke, mirrors and blatant disinformation to cloud over the damage the repeal of 7AA will do,’ says Green Party spokesperson for Children, Kahurangi Carter.

“Minister Chhour’s comments that Section 7AA creates conflict for Oranga Tamariki when making decisions in the best interests of our tamariki goes completely against the evidence and advice officials have provided her with. Official advice has made it abundantly clear that there is no evidence to suggest that 7AA has driven practice decisions that have resulted in a change to care arrangements.

“Evidence from officials has even stated that Section 7AA has contributed to improvements in safety and stability for children both inside and outside of state care.

“This is all evidence the Minister has been supplied with. This is either wilful ignorance or the Minister choosing to deliberately spread disinformation to provide some form of justification for trashing Te Tiriti and taking Aotearoa backwards - while the most vulnerable tamariki are caught in the crossfire of further traumatisation.

“This speaks to the pattern of this Government favouring ideology over evidence, soundbite policy over solutions.

“Our tamariki deserve to be connected to their whakapapa and whānau so they can grow up with a strong sense of self and cultural identity. Section 7AA helps ensure precisely this and has been crucial in starting to heal deep intergenerational trauma and improve outcomes for whānau. Scrapping it would be a deliberate misstep that our children will pay for across generations,” says Kahurangi Carter.

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