- Assistant Māori Children's Commissioner Glenis Philip-Barbara
The new Assistant Māori Children's Commissioner is questioning how much longer New Zealand will tolerate Oranga Tamariki not providing care to children.
In an interview with Newshub Nation on Saturday, Glenis Philip-Barbara said Aotearoa is "waking up" to the fact that Māori have solutions not only for their own social issues but for the country as a whole - and it's time Oranga Tamariki got with the program.
She says the organisation has had problems for three decades, and it's time for transformational change.
"Until we hand over the power to Māori I don't think we're going to get it right," she said.
Philip-Barbara said the current system is failing and Māori are afraid to ask for assistance at risk of uplifts.
"Whanau told us about the absolute fear of having their children uplifted if they went for help with food, housing," she said.
"There was a story told to us about a woman who had a midwife standing at the end of her hospital bed telling her that if she couldn't secure a home for her and her baby by the time she left hospital she would potentially be facing uplift of her baby."
Link to article and video: Oranga Tamariki 'will not get it right' until power sits with Māori - Assistant Māori Children's Commissioner Glenis Philip-Barbara | Newshub
