“Every decision I’m making since I’ve been a minister is around the care and the safety of our young people. And I’ll never apologise for that.”
That’s according to Children Minister Karen Chhour, who sat down with Moana Maniapoto and defended her stance on removing section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act.
Section 7AA refers to the Treaty of Waitangi and requires Oranga Tamariki to take culture into account.
This interview was conducted after Te Ao With Moana spoke to the couple from a ‘reverse uplift’, a story Chhour has used many times to justify her decision to repeal s7AA.
Maniapoto pushed the minister, telling her the children, who were given back to whānau, where “they’re loved, they’re warm, they’re safe”.
She asked Chhour if this knowledge changed her perspective on the Act.
Chhour said she never stated the children weren’t loved, warm or safe and even knowing they were, didn’t change her assumptions.
“That should never have happened in the first place. Reverse uplift should not happen. If a young person is safe, happy, and been there for years this should never happen. A reverse uplift should not happen.”
The minister claims she has received over 100 emails with stories about the effects of s7AA.
“They’re too scared to come forward, too scared to speak because of the backlash that does come their way.
“S7AA has confused the situation where we’ve had a practice shift that is not safe for anybody, not safe for our kids, not safe for our caregivers, and not safe for the whānau either.
“We need to be doing better within Oranga Tamariki and I want their practice to change so our young people are safe.”
In a heated exchange between Te Ao With Moana host and the Children Minister, Chhour admitted to never getting in contact with the whānau, although using their case as an example for the removal of the section in the act. She says it was due to it being “not my place to have engagement with that family”.
Watch the full sit-down interview between Moana Maniapoto and Karen Chhour in the video above.