Oranga Tamariki has announced a 9% workforce reduction, with 447 job cuts.
Oranga Tamarik (OT) chief executive Chappie Te Kani said the organisational restructure is part of a transformation that will bring change to make Oranga Tamariki “a ministry that puts children at the centre of all we do”.
Some 37% of the staff will be impacted by the restructuring - 1900 of the 5100 permanent and fixed-term workers. 632 jobs will be disestablished – including 70 vacant roles.
The change will help deliver saving targets set by the government and will not impact frontline workers.
Te Ao Māori News requested comment from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour including whether these changes would impact the all-Maori Oranga Tamariki Ministerial Advisory Board. The board was established in 2021 to provide independent advice to the Minister for Children on relationships with Māori, tamariki, rangatahi, and whānau. Chhour did not answer the question.
The absence of a response could be enough to worry Māori, who are disproportionately represented in state care harm statistics. And more so as the coalition government has promised to remove section 7AA from OT’s governing legislation. Section 7AA outlined a series of obligations to improve outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi Māori under the Crown’s duty to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Chhour is now the first minister to be summoned by the Waitangi Tribunal to explain the repeal of 7AA.
In a Te Pāti Māori press release, Te Tai Tokerau MP and party spokesperson for OT Mariameno Kapa-Kingi raised concerns about the job cuts leading to state care abuse for tamariki. “Cutting jobs and restructuring the scope of work will only perpetuate a failing ministry,” Kapa-Kingi said.
Oranga Tamariki has failed every single review. More tamariki than ever are being abused in the care of the state. Notoriously, the ministry scapegoat their staff for the failings of those at the top. It is rotten to its core.
— Mariameno Kapa-Kingi MP
The proposed changes will be finalised after consultation with staff.
RNZ is reporting 2477 jobs have been cut from the public sector as of today. And the Ministry of Education have just announced a 565 staff cut.