Karen Chhour is proposing to scrap Oranga Tamariki targets which aim to connect more children under state care with family and their culture.

These targets include aiming to place more children in the care of their wider whānau and investing in iwi organisations who support our tamariki.

“These reckless changes will discourage the search for the wider family of children in care and risks isolating them from their whakapapa and cultural identity,” Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said.

“The law already puts a child’s welfare above all else when making decisions on their future care arrangements. Karen Chhour’s proposed changes opens them up to more disconnection.

“Testimonies from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care have been clear about the generational harm that comes from being separated from one’s whānau and culture. We should not go back down this road.

“Last week, with no evidence, against official advice and the warnings of iwi, hapū and the Waitangi Tribunal, the Government scrapped legislation that committed them to closing the gaps for tamariki Māori in our care system.

“It was a divisive decision and served no real purpose, and now it looks like Karen Chhour is taking our care system even further backwards,” Willow-Jean Prime said.

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