The acting chief executive of the children's welfare ministry has had to take time off for health reasons
The man handpicked to reform the troubled Oranga Tamariki has had to stand down suddenly for health reasons.
Sir Wira Gardiner, a founding director of the Waitangi Tribunal and the first ever chief executive of the Ministry of Māori Development, was brought into the children's ministry after a series of scandals over child uplifts.
In a brief statement, the ministry confirmed he will "be taking time off to focus on his health".
Chappie Te Kani, Oranga Tamariki's acting deputy chief executive for governance and engagement, has taken over as acting chief executive of the ministry.
"As acting chief executive I advised all Oranga Tamariki staff, and I know that they join me in wishing Sir Wira and his whānau well," Te Kani said.
"Sir Wira and his whānau have asked for privacy and request that any questions are to be directed to the Oranga Tamariki media team."
Gardiner took over as acting chief executive on March 1, after longtime Secretary for Children Grainne Moss stepped down. Moss was in the role for more than four and a half years and grappled with criticism from Māori communities over police uplifts of children from their families. The campaign against Moss and Oranga Tamariki more broadly was spurred by a Newsroom investigation into an attempted uplift of a newborn Māori baby in Hawkes Bay in 2019.
Newsroom revealed that "without notice" uplifts were being used to remove many new-born Māori babies from whānau. The widespread practice was found to be unlawful after in inquiry by the Ombudsman - one of five investigations sparked by Newsroom's reporting.
Moss was widely seen as on her way out after Children's Minister Kelvin Davis declined to say he had confidence in her leadership and after Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare said in November that she "allegedly may be vacating in a couple of hours". Although Davis upbraided Henare and called his comments "inappropriate and inaccurate", he continued to refuse to express confidence in Moss.
However, before Gardiner even took up the mantle, Davis said he had full confidence in the new chief executive.
"Sir Wira's record speaks for itself in the public service. I really look forward to working with him," he said at the time.
In a statement released on his second day on the job, Gardiner said his focuses over the next six months would include "building trust and confidence in Oranga Tamariki; responding to the four reviews of Oranga Tamariki that have called for us to improve our policies and practice and strengthen our cultural competency; and exploring how resources and decision-making can be shared with whānau, hapū, iwi and communities to enable more localised and community-driven approaches."
Gardiner has shown himself to be willing to act quickly and decisively. When Newsroom released a video showing the assault of a child in state care in June, he and Davis responded promptly. They shut down the facility at which the abuse occurred and stood down employees in advance of a police investigation.
