PRESS RELEASE

31 March 2017

Last day of Child, Youth and Family

Today is the final day of Child, Youth and Family. Tomorrow will see the new Oranga Tamariki - Ministry for Vulnerable Children, being rolled out, with many changes set to be implemented over the coming months and years. The first and most obvious is the exclusion of Family in the name. "Is the State now the primary caregiver of vulnerable children?" asks Leighton Baker. "God help us if it is!"

Over the previous months, each CYF employee has had to reapply for their job, and the Conservative Party would like to acknowledge the many great Social Workers, Supervisors and Managers who have unfortunately lost their jobs within the department.

How much this “re-branding” will cost the taxpayer is yet to be determined, however it would be safe to say that the core business of the agency, child protection, will not benefit from the funds spent. It is way past time that ALL government agencies focussed their spending on the core business of that agency and the services for which they have been set up to supply the taxpayer.

"A name change, along with some other changes, will not address the huge issues of child abuse and the breakdown of the family unit within New Zealand. In addition, how can we expect there to be accountability for the new Oranga Tamariki, when, as was the case with CYF, there is no independent complaints authority to hold them accountable?" says Leighton Baker, Leader of the Conservative Party.

He continues, "The Conservative Party is committed to addressing the breakdown of the family unit, through policies that will promote marriage, address child abuse, and tackle our appallingly aggressive, and escalating youth crime. It is because the government has failed at doing these things, that the problems continue to escalate. The Conservative Party's ultimate aim is to drastically reduce the need for the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children by strengthening the family unit and restoring its place of value in our nation."

ENDS

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