'Unacceptable': Children's Minister Not Told About Second Boot Camp Youth Absconder

Saturday, 7 December 2024, 7:11 pm
Article: RNZ

Jo Moir, Political Editor

Two teenagers on the run from the coalition's boot camp programme is not a reason to end it, the Children's Minister says.

Karen Chhour appeared at select committee on Friday afternoon, just a day after news broke that one of the boot camp participants had died in a car crash in Tīrau last week.

Earlier in the day, Oranga Tamariki was grilled by MPs and revealed two participants of the programme have absconded since the tangi for the deceased teenager earlier this week.

Chhour was only told about one of the escapes, and said it was "unacceptable" that information was not passed onto her earlier.

"I've had a meeting with the chief executive and told him I'm very disappointed that I didn't have that information and I expect better," she told reporters ahead of her select committee appearance.

Speaking to reporters after the select committee, Oranga Tamariki acting chief executive Andrew Bridgman said not telling the minister a second teenager had gone missing was "a simple mistake".

"That information got to the minister too late. It should have got to her earlier and I've apologised to the Minister," Bridgman told reporters outside this afternoon's Select Committee.

Asked what had gone wrong with the process he said he did not know.

"It's just a simple mistake. The information should have got to the minister. It didn't get to the minister. It's a big bureaucracy, 4000 people."

Asked if it wasn't just a part of the 'no surprises' provision, Bridgman said he had apologised to the minister. "I said the information should have got to her. It didn't get to her and we will change it so it does get to her."

Also speaking after the Select Committee hearing, Chhour said the oversight was "unacceptable" and she had made it very clear in a meeting with Oranga Tamariki today.

"I've had the meeting. I have explained how I felt. I am not very happy at the moment with not having that information and I do not want it to happen again."

The boot camp participants left the youth justice facility in October and are currently in the transition phase back into the community.

One young person who absconded from the tangi was on bail at the time, which meant two Oranga Tamariki staff accompanied him to the funeral where he made his escape amongst 150 mourners.

The second young person, who Chhour was not notified about, was living with whānau, and took off the day after the tangi.

Oranga Tamariki has launched a review into the escape from the tangi, given the teenager was under the supervision of staff.

There is currently legislation progressing through the House that would put the programme into law, but Chhour said the missing teens have not given her pause for thought to reconsider that.

Chhour attended the funeral of the deceased teenager, who she had met when the boot camp was first launched.

"I went there because I've met this young man and I thought it was the right thing to do to support the family and to show that we will support them as much as we possibly can."

While there she saw the teenager who absconded from the tangi, but said she did not witness the escape or speak to him at the funeral.

Chhour told reporters the boot camp was never intended as a "magic bullet" and that the 10 teenagers in the programme were all "complex".

"These are young people that are serious repeat youth offenders, they're on a pilot programme where we are trying to put intensive response around them.

"What they do with that I cannot control, but I've done everything I possibly can to help them be the best young people they can be."

She said it was devastating a young life had been lost and he had "so much potential and a future ahead of him".

"I'm grieving as well. It's devastating for everyone who has met this young man, and for his family."

The pilot is under a revolving review with the first report due by early next year.

Chhour said it did not make sense to review the nine-month community phase of the programme until it was complete.

"It would be naive to think that young people who are serious youth offenders are not going to reoffend."

"This is a learning curve, it's what a pilot is about, we have to have the ability to pivot and assess where things went wrong," she said.

During the select committee Chhour butted heads with a Te Pati Māori MP over the coalition's move to remove Treaty provisions from child protection laws.

The government is pushing ahead with plans to strip Section 7AA out of the Oranga Tamariki Act.

Te Pati Māori's Mariameno Kapa-Kingi accused the minister of essentially saying that being Māori does not matter.

Chhour replied saying, "please don't put words in my mouth... I have never disregarded cultural safety".

Kapa-Kingi continually interrrupted saying, "I'm repeating your own words", followed by, "7AA is a complete disregard".

The chairperson, National's Joseph Mooney, had to interrupt the exchange telling Kapa-Kingi to "let the minister answer".

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