The Māori Party is calling on the Prime Minister to sack Minister of Children, Tracey Martin, and instruct a new minister to replace CEO of Oranga Tamariki, Grainne Moss, in light of the most recent reports about their incompetence in leading the organisation charged with the care of tamariki.
“Our people have been calling for the Minister and CEO to go for over a year – it’s time the Prime Minister stepped up and replaced them with people who will act competently and with compassion in their roles,” said Māori Party Co-leader and Te Tai Hauāuru candidate Debbie Ngarewa-Packer.
“Report after report has come out detailing many instances of gross incompetence at Oranga Tamariki. The latest reports have exposed a culture of bullying and stifling of dissent.
“The CEO has presided over a string of failures, and the Minister has had enough time and opportunities to fix things – it’s time for the Prime Minister to put other people in charge.
“Minister Martin’s comments to the media today were outrageous – she focused almost entirely on the personal feelings of the CEO rather than the huge impact OT is having on tamariki who need care and protection. She is deflecting blame for their failures on to those who are rightly speaking up and challenging them.
“Our paramount concern is for the wellbeing of our tamariki Māori who need care and protection, there’s nothing more important than that.
“The Māori Party position is to disestablish Oranga Tamariki following negotiation and agreement between the Crown and tangata whenua of kaupapa Māori based processes and structures for child protection within whānau, hāpu and iwi.
“However, in the meantime while those negotiations continue, it’s critical that there is competent and culturally-responsive leadership at the helm of Oranga Tamariki, that Māori have a role in appointing – the Minister and CEO need to go,” said Mrs Ngarewa-Packer.
Questions being asked how Oranga Tamariki now has 10 executives but only 1 in the leadership team with a social work qualification…
Only 7 out of 12 regional managers have a social work qualification or are registered social workers.
Only 1600 of all front line workers of 4000 staff are front line social workers. So 60% of all front line workers at Oranga Tamariki are NOT front line social workers.
“On social work experience, Moss said the leadership team of herself and 10 deputy chief executives “benefits greatly from the deep social work experience of the Chief Social Worker” (the only one in the leadership team with a social work qualification); just over half (seven of 12) regional managers had a social work qualification or are registered social workers. Eight-five percent of OT staff were in the front line, she said in answer to one question, but later said just 1600 of the total 4000 staff nationwide were frontline social workers.”
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/the-brave-new-world-of-oranga-tamariki
This is a problem growing around the world where organisations lose the organisational knowledge of their industry at executive level, and then turn it into a dysfunctional and poorly operating organisation….
Moss also said, she has the childrens best interest at heart. But looking at the poor culture and work practices, the high turnover of staff, the bullying and intimidation, the budget training courses for her Maori staff, it appears she does not have the childrens best interest at heart. Now if she did really care about the children, she would invest properly in her staff, she would also employ the very best, not unqualified or unsuitable people. And she would also listen to her staff not undermine them. It appears she has her salaries best interest at heart. Who know does she actually have a heart.
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