Ngāpuhi iwi, hapū and whānau are mobilising a call to action and taking a stand against more children being lost in state care.
He uri koe nā Rāhiri, he mokopuna nāku
— Ngāpuhi
This comes off the back of the landmark Whanaketia report on abuse in state and religious care released last week, revealing how New Zealand failed to protect vulnerable children.
“The recent Oranga Tamariki reports on safety of children in care show that this abuse in care continues right now,” a Ngāpuhi spokesperson said.
“Given the significant disproportionate numbers of Ngāpuhi mokopuna in care, 827 as at April 2024, this is more than three times as many as any other iwi and is a third of the total mokopuna Māori in state care, we will not remain quiet. This is a crisis point for our people.
Ngāpuhi have called for two hikoi with the first on August 3 in Kaikohe.
It will start at 10am near the intersection of Broadway and Orrs road, with it finishing at the centre of Kaikohe at 65 Broadway.
“We encourage everyone to bring your whānau, your placards, your voices, you waiata and your aroha.
“The purpose of this hīkoi is to raise awareness around the number of our Ngāpuhi mokopuna in state care, to promote whakapapa-based solutions and to give whanau and hapū a place to come together in solidarity to support each other and those working hard to care for our tamariki mokopuna.
“Information will also be available for whānau to learn more about what they can do to provide support and care for tamariki mokopuna.”
The second hikoi will take place two days later, August 5, on Parliament grounds between 12 noon and1 pm.
This is to raise awareness of these dire issues before Ngāpuhi leaders give their oral submission opposing the repeal of section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act.
“Ngāpuhi have 165,000 iwi members and over half are aged under 25. It’s the largest iwi in Aotearoa and we are devoted to rangatiratanga for our whānau, our hapū and our marae.
“For decades we have had concerns about the number of Ngāpuhi tamariki mokopuna locked in the system. We have tried working collaboratively on Crown-led strategies. These have not worked and will never work because ultimately, we now know, it’s not in the Crown’s interest to have solutions for our people.
“We are calling for devolution of resources and funding for Ngāpuhi-led strategy and solutions. No more of our tamariki to endure trauma while in the broken state system erroneously described as care.
“We all want our whānau to be safe, secure, healthy, and connected to enduring whakapapa relationships.
The spokesperson said this would allow Māori to reach their fullest potential so collectively iwi, hapū, and whānau could all universally benefit.