Legislation to improve independent monitoring of Oranga Tamariki passes third reading
Legislation the government says will improve the oversight of Oranga Tamariki has passed its third and final reading at Parliament.
It passed with the support of every party in Parliament except Te Pāti Māori, although even opposition parties that voted for the bill had some reservations.
The legislation makes the Independent Children’s Monitor an Independent Crown Entity, instead of an agency sat within the Education Review Office.
It would also reinstate a single Children’s Commissioner.
Social development minister Louise Upston said the legislation would make it crystal clear to children who their advocate was, and build on public trust in monitoring and advocacy.
“I don’t want anyone listening, for a moment, to think that there is anything wrong with the current oversight, but this is an opportunity for the House to take it even further and to make improvements to the oversight system,” she said in Parliament.
“The bill fulfils our government’s commitment to create a truly independent monitoring and oversight agency for Oranga Tamariki.”
In 2022, the Labour government replaced the commissioner with a Children and Young Person’s Commission, and shared oversight of Oranga Tamariki between the commission and the Ombudsman.
The move was opposed by every other party in Parliament at the time.
Under the new legislation, the current Chief Commissioner of the Children and Young Person’s Commission, Dr Clare Achmad, would remain as the sole Children’s Commissioner for one year, starting from 1 August.
Chief executive of the Independent Children’s Monitor Arryn Jones would stay on for a year to oversee the organisation’s transition.
The Ombudsman would keep its power to investigate complaints.
The last Labour Government shamefully knee capped the previous Children’s Commissioner and created a faceless 6 person panel nestled in the middle of fucking now where inside the Education Review Office because there was a realisation deep within the Professional Managerial Class that the torture, rape, molestation and abuse of children in State Care might one day bite them in their CVs.
The deal between neoliberal Governments and the Professional Managerial Class in Wellington is that the neoliberal Government slashes welfare but the Professional Managerial Class is never held responsible for the social carnage that occurs because of that underfunding.
This understanding was under severe threat during the historic abuse in care legal case as the lies and deplorable behaviour was slowly being exposed.
Far better to knee cap a Children’s Commissioner than allow a clear path of complaint for those abused, which is what Labour agreed to do (because Labour will do whatever the Professional Managerial Class in Wellington tells them to).
The reason this has changed and the Children’s Commissioner given some teeth back is because much to the surprise of the neoliberal Governments and the Professional Managerial Class, Kiwis didn’t explode with rage that the State had abused 250 000 kids.
Must shrugged. Some talked about the Rugby. Others complained about orange road cones, but the public of NZ didn’t;t really rise in rage at the State abusing 250 000 kids, mostly because those kids were Māori and poor.
If it had been white middle class kids being tortured, raped, molested and abused, it might have been a different response.
Now the Professional Managerial Class can see that they won’t ever be held accountable, they don’t mind letting us have the Children’s Commissioner back, because after escaping any scrutiny for torturing, raping, molesting and abusing 250000 kids from the NZ Public, they know they can get away with anything.
The latest Oranga Tamariki tinkering won’t save kids – but it might make the state 1% more accountable.
In the words of the Great Mike Hosking, “Happy Days”.
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