A terrible failure

The Herald reports:

Anger and emotions threatened to boil over as MPs debated and one even called for the minister’s resignation following the murder of a 5-year-old boy by his carer who’d been approved by the child protection agency Oranga Tamariki.

The debate was spurred by the Chief Ombudsman’s damning investigation that found Oranga Tamariki failed to take the “bare minimum” action for Malachi Subecz, who died last November following repeated abuse by his caregiver Michaela Barriball.

MPs from each party also raised issues of confidence in the agency and the minister responsible, Kelvin Davis, who took on the role in 2020 seeking to reform it after controversy around the uplifts and mistreatment of predominantly Māori children.

“Somebody must pay. Somebody must be accountable,” Te Paati Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, visibly emotional, said.

“Not an education facility. It starts at the Minister, Kelvin Davis.”

Some child abuse deaths are not preventable. The first time the family comes to attention of the authorities, is after the child has been killed.

This case was not one of them. An uncle and cousin did alert authorities. Oranga Tamariki did not act.

The childcare centre saw the bruises. They did not act. They have been deregistered so at least there is a consequence there.

But what consequence has there been for Oranga Tamariki?

National’s spokeswoman for children Louise Upston said there needed to be accountability.

“The accountability has to sit with the people in Oranga Tamariki that the concerns raised about this child’s wellbeing were raised with. That’s what accountability looks like.”

Rather than fewer children in state care, Upston said the right measure was fewer children being harmed.

Exactly.

In the justice area the Government has a policy to reduce the number of prisoners, rather than reduce the number of criminals.

In this area their policy is to reduce the number of children in stare care, rather than reduce the number of children being harmed.