Summarised by Centrist
Oranga Tamariki is facing a sharp rise in serious abuse reports, with “critical” and “very urgent” cases up nearly 40 percent in the last half of 2024.
Overall, reports of concern jumped 60 percent to 55,000, driven by worsening economic conditions, including rising unemployment and material hardship.
While the agency is meeting its internal target of visiting 95 percent of children in care at least once every two months, it is falling short on urgent response times. Only 86 percent of the most serious alerts were acted on within 24 to 48 hours.
The ministry has launched a new child protection investigation unit to identify systemic failings and support survivors of state harm. It also reports modest improvements in caregiver satisfaction and complaint handling. A 12 percent drop in serious youth reoffending was recorded – short of the 15 percent target.
Editor’s note: RNZ omits a key fact: most of these children are Māori, often being harmed within Māori whānau. That omission protects political narratives but risks silencing the reality Māori children face in state care and beyond. Broadcaster Michael Laws recently noted that if we can’t name the problem honestly, how can we fix it?
