Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani says he will be taking medical leave from September, and will be sharing his role with the former justice and defence secretary.
Te Kani said he would be returning by the end of the year. While he was on leave, to undergo surgery and recover, Andrew Bridgman would be acting chief executive.
Bridgman recently finished his role as secretary of defence, and had previously led the Ministry of Justice. Bridgman would start at Oranga Tamariki later this month, in the role of “acting general manager”.
They would work together until mid-September, Te Kani said, at which point he would be taking leave.
Te Kani officially started as the Oranga Tamariki chief executive in December 2022, although he had been acting chief executive for more than a year. He took the leadership role from Sir Wira Gardiner, who had been chief executive, became ill.
“I would like to thank my leadership team for all their support, not just for me, but for my whānau. I know they will welcome Andrew and lead the team while I am away,” Te Kani said, in a statement to Stuff on Thursday.
Te Kani had been managing his illness for some time.
“For a while now, I have known I would need to, at some stage, take planned medical leave to undergo surgery,” he said.
“I wanted to make sure that we had made our way through the restructure work and were ready to stand up the new structure before confirming my plans.”
That restructure plan was confirmed last week.
It saw more than 400 full time roles be disestablished at the child protection ministry.
Te Kani then battled with leakers and staff who were fiercely critical of the restructure.
His webinar with staff, which confirmed the staff and urged some to look for work elsewhere, was leaked to Stuff by staff who said he had taken the wrong tone during a difficult time for the ministry.
At the time, Labour Party children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said Oranga Tamariki was “imploding” while the Public Service Association argued the layoffs would put children at risk.
Children’s Minister Karen Chhour said she stood by the restructure and Te Kani’s leadership, when issues were raised last week.
- Stuff