The latest in a series of reports into the state of Oranga Tamariki will soon be made public, but the repeal of controversial legislation is touch and go to meet a September deadline
The findings of an independent advisory group tasked with looking into Oranga Tamariki’s culture will soon be made public, Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis says.
Davis says work is still underway on the partial repeal of a controversial law believed to have contributed to a spike in Oranga Tamariki uplifts, although an initial deadline to start the legislative process this month has been put in doubt following the country’s Covid-19 outbreak.
In April, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft told Newsroom he was “mystified” by the lack of progress towards repealing parts of the Oranga Tamariki Act, saying:
“This piece of legislation was a pernicious, misguided and entirely counterproductive provision that should be consigned to the dustbin of history forthwith.”
The “subsequent child” provisions of the Oranga Tamariki Act, which mean a parent who has had a child removed permanently from their care in the past must effectively prove they are fit to keep a new baby, were called into question by a wide range of Kiwis after Newsroom’s reporting on the attempted uplift of a Hastings newborn in 2019.
Davis, who had initially been due to report back to Cabinet that month on related support measures for whānau with one child taken from their care, told Newsroom at the time that legislation to enact the partial repeal would be introduced to Parliament in September alongside changes to policy and practice guidance.
Aphra Green, Oranga Tamariki’s deputy chief executive for policy and organisational strategy, told Newsroom the ministry had provided Davis with advice about the subsequent child provisions, and “recognise[d] the interest from the Children’s Commissioner and others in progressing the partial repeal of these provisions”.
Covid disruption
One complication in introducing the legislation this month as planned is the disruption to parliamentary proceedings caused by the outbreak ahead of the current two-week recess.
Leader of the House Chris Hipkins said last Thursday the nature of Parliament’s work when it resumed sitting next week would depend on the country’s alert levels.
When the House resumed full consideration of legislation, Hipkins said priority would be given to bills that had to be enacted by a certain date such as taxation law, while the Government has also committed to pass the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill by the end of the month.
Davis told Newsroom progress on the subsequent children legislation had been affected by Covid but was being worked through.
However, he also wanted to align that work with the report from the ministerial advisory board he set up in January to provide independent advice on what was happening within the ministry.
The board is expected to report back on the organisational culture, most recently called into question earlier this year following a Newsroom investigation into the treatment of vulnerable children at its specialised care and residence facilities.
Davis said he had received the board’s report and would release it “as soon as Covid conditions allow”, along with the Government’s response to both its recommendations and the findings from previous reports.
The ministerial group's report will be just the latest in a series of investigations into the state of Oranga Tamariki, following previous inquiries from Becroft, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier, Whānau Ora and the Waitangi Tribunal.
