A second review by the Children’s Commission has made four key recommendations, including the transfer of power to iwi, hapū and whānau. A new report from children’s commissioner Andrew Becroft is calling for an immediate overhaul of Oranga Tamariki – largely through a transfer of power to Māori. The report, released yesterday, found Māori were … Read more
A landmark study has shown the true value of tikanga Māori-based early-intervention childcare using research from a parenting programme in West Auckland. Corrine grew up in a wonderful household; her parents never so much as swore in front of her. In her own words, they were “amazing role models,” but when she became a teenager … Read more
Closed adoption saw thousands of Māori babies handed over to Pākehā families with no way of accessing their ancestral roots. RNZ’s Te Aniwa Hurihanganui looks at the outdated Adoption Act and its impact on Māori who grew up desperate to reconnect. Nicola Lancaster remembers holding Annabel’s tiny premature body in her arms moments after she … Read more
Last week the Ministry for Children’s practices around uplifting children and putting them in state care were exposed in a harrowing investigation by journalist Melanie Reid. It’s no coincidence Māori are disproportionately targeted, writes Tina Ngata. If you venture into the websites for the Ministry for Women, Ministry for Children and Ministry of Health, the … Read more
Lorraine Taylor, CEO of Variety – the Children’s Charity, believes the Child Poverty Reduction Bill is an important tool to addressing New Zealand’s child poverty situation. She is imploring Kiwis to get behind the Bill by signing their name to an open letter to MPs before April 4. 1984 – a year forever etched in … Read more
The success or failure of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state welfare abuse will depend on how much attention it gives to Māori boys – and a change in New Zealand’s attitude, writes Aaron Smale. Years ago while reading Anne Else’s 1991 book A Question of Adoption, I came to a chapter that talked … Read more
The newborn baby taken from his parents by Oranga Tamariki at an Auckland hospital last year is coming home, but their daughter remains in state custody. Joris de Bres follows the family’s fight to get their children back. Last September, baby Liam* was taken because Oranga Tamariki (OT) believed he was in danger of harm if … Read more
A baby girl with broken ribs is taken into government care; 14 months later her newborn brother is also taken into custody at an Auckland hospital. But the case is not as simple as it seems, writes Joris de Bres. Two weeks ago, newborn baby Liam* was taken from his parents at an Auckland hospital. … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has outsourced Labour’s decision on a capital gains tax to a working group. But why? It’s time we stopped treating tax working groups as the magical solution to problems in the tax system, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw. Melchett: Field Marshal Haig has formulated a brilliant new tactical plan. Blackadder: Ah. Would this brilliant plan involve us … Read more
Today ActionStation and the Morgan Foundation launch Liz and Sam’s Story, a pick-a-path game based on the lives of New Zealand families living on low incomes. In the first of a two-part series, the Morgan Foundation’s Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw discusses the in-depth research behind the game. After spending two years writing a book about what … Read more
Money may not be important in the big scheme of things, but where money gets put, and how much, tells us volumes about what the government thinks it is doing right. And our government thinks things are going pretty well, writes the Morgan Foundation’s Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. As peculiar as it is in the context … Read more
Forget the floral hand lotion, the pointless kitchen gadget, the bunch of crappy supermarket flowers. Emily Writes has a few things that would really make her day on Sunday. Mother’s Day! Every store in the land has shop fronts full of shit to buy your mum (and some not shit – like my book, which … Read more
The amazing truth about reducing child poverty is that we already know what works: regular, no strings attached cash payments. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains the research backing up her call for the government to reinstate the Family Benefit. It was 1985; New Zealand was riding high in the waves of economic deregulation. I was seven … Read more
For good or ill, the first three years of a child’s existence have an outsized impact on the rest of their life, according to findings taken from the world renowned Dunedin Study. The study’s director talks to Toby Manhire about what it all means. Give me a child at seven, and I will show you … Read more
The best way to improve the lives of thousands of our most deprived and at-risk kids? Give their parents a regular, guaranteed cash payment, says Jess Berentson-Shaw – no strings attached. We know that families in New Zealand are struggling. So, what are we doing about it? We need people who care, we need to … Read more
Key regulations aimed at preserving children’s connections to whakapapa and their culture are set to be dropped as part of a major shake up of New Zealand’s child welfare system. Kim McBreen explains why that’s terrible news for our most vulnerable Māori children. You may have heard the Crown have had a series of bad … Read more