Oranga Tamariki report highlights why ‘For Māori by Māori’ is the solution not the problem

The latest report from Oranga Tamariki into the terrible stain being in state care causes Māori is a damning legacy of Colonialism…

Oranga Tamariki report finds stark outcomes for Māori in state care system

The Independent Children’s Monitor has found Māori children in the Oranga Tamariki system are overrepresented and being let down; and the outcomes for Māori adults involved in the system when they were younger “paint a stark picture”, with higher mortality rates over time than those not involved.

Those same adults who had experience in custody or in care were nine times more likely to have used emergency housing as an adult and half as likely to be in employment, Children’s Monitor chief executive Arran Jones said.

He said the report was a “story of consequence” and of needs not addressed by a system that could not always get the right support in place at the right time.

“The needs of tamariki and rangatahi then multiply as they escalate through the system.”

The inaugural report in a new annual series, focused on whether the system was delivering outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori, looked at the period between 1 July 2023, to 30 June 2024.

What this report did, compared to the usual monitoring of Oranga Tamariki operational activities, was “lifting up and looking at outcomes in terms of the life course for young people and their experiences”, Jones said.

The report emphasised that most young Māori had no involvement in the Oranga Tamariki system. Jones said this context was important because narratives can “get away on us.”

A third of those aged between zero and 18 in New Zealand were Māori – around 330,000 young people.

In the 2023/24 reporting year:

• • eight in 100 tamariki and rangatahi Māori had a report of concern made to Oranga Tamariki about their safety or wellbeing
  • one in 100 spent time in the custody of Oranga Tamariki
  • two in 100 rangatahi Māori aged 10-18 were subject to a police proceeding in the last year, which could result in no further action, warnings, youth referrals, alternative action plans, family group conferences (FGCs), community justice or iwi community panels, custody admission or prosecution
  • one in 330 rangatahi Māori aged 10-18 had been in custody under youth justice orders.

But when young Māori are involved in the system, “there are increasing levels of over-representations” Jones said.

The report stated the over-representation of Māori at every level within the care and protection system was a “clear indicator the system is not performing”.

…Māori who go through the state system are abused and become worse.

The outcomes cast a long stain on their souls.

Higher mortality rates, nine times more likely to require emergency housing, half as likely to be unemployed, higher chance of being hospitalised for self harm, less educated, die younger and hurt deeper.

This is the state system and its impacts on Māori.

‘By Māori, For Māori’ social services when the state system fails them so appallingly is the solution, not the problem.

That so many Redneck Crackers point to ‘By Māori, For Māori’ programs as race based apartheid when the state system robs māori of so much is the ultimate insult to injury.

7aa forced OT to deal with Iwi Community Groups.

The greatest criticism that is constantly used against OT (and every other bloody variation of OT before it), is their lack of research to find wider whanau who are appropriate carers for uplifted Māori children.

What 7aa did, was force OT to contact Community Iwi Groups and rather than uplift Māori kids into the state system, they were uplifted and delivered to community Iwi groups instead AND (this is most important) the funding for that child would go through to the Iwi groups.

ACT removed 7aa claiming it was race based apartheid so OT doesn’t have to communicate with anyone and can automatically uplift children into state care, which is what they want because the Social Investment Model they are adopting argues that you have to intervene and uplift the child immediately to make the savings targets the Social Investment Model promises.

If we know the state system doesn’t work for uplifted Māori, and there is an alternative ‘By Māori, For Maori’ model that can be used for Māori children – then why the fuck aren’t we doing it?

Why does our petty bigotry refuse to acknowledge that impact of that colonialism?

It is not te Lft who are frigid in their ideology, it’s the Right!

They are demanding Māori remain in an uplift system we know is worse for Māori because they would prefer to experiment on the problem rather than admit the impact of colonialism.

Ut is the Right who are being ideological here, the Left are attempting to be pragmatic!

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