Social development minister Louise Upston said the legislation would make it crystal clear to children who their advocate was, and build on public trust in monitoring and advocacy. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Legislation the government says will improve the oversight of Oranga Tamariki has passed its third and final reading at Parliament.
It passed with the support of every party in Parliament except Te Pāti Māori, although even opposition parties that voted for the bill had some reservations.
The legislation makes the Independent Children's Monitor an Independent Crown Entity, instead of an agency sat within the Education Review Office.
It would also reinstate a single Children's Commissioner.
Social development minister Louise Upston said the legislation would make it crystal clear to children who their advocate was, and build on public trust in monitoring and advocacy.
"I don't want anyone listening, for a moment, to think that there is anything wrong with the current oversight, but this is an opportunity for the House to take it even further and to make improvements to the oversight system," she said in Parliament.
"The bill fulfils our government's commitment to create a truly independent monitoring and oversight agency for Oranga Tamariki."
In 2022, the Labour government replaced the commissioner with a Children and Young Person's Commission, and shared oversight of Oranga Tamariki between the commission and the Ombudsman.
The move was opposed by every other party in Parliament at the time.
Under the new legislation, the current Chief Commissioner of the Children and Young Person's Commission, Dr Clare Achmad, would remain as the sole Children's Commissioner for one year, starting from 1 August.
Chief executive of the Independent Children's Monitor Arryn Jones would stay on for a year to oversee the organisation's transition.
The Ombudsman would keep its power to investigate complaints.
Upston said she was pleased with the work of the Monitor and Commissioner to date, but she viewed the governance structures as insufficient at establishing independence and having a single, clear advocate for children to recognise and approach.
During the Committee of the Whole House stage, an amendment was added to require agencies and contracted non-governmental organisations to complete additional reporting on their progress, to improve compliance with Oranga Tamariki's national care standards.
Despite supporting the legislation, Labour's children's spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime said she remained concerned about the disestablishment of the Commission board.
Prime said the legislation did not significantly enhance what was already there.
"We had hoped that the benefits of having diverse representation on the board of the children's commission would have been given an opportunity to be embedded and for the benefits to be seen, but, sadly, this has not been the case," she said.
The Greens' Kahurangi Carter said the bill, particularly the greater independence for the Independent Children's Monitor, was a step forward, but should not be mistaken for true transformation.
"If we are serious about the wellbeing, safety, and mana of our tamariki, then we must be serious about the systems that continue to harm them," she said.
Rising to oppose the bill, Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris said he truly hoped the adjustments would improve the system, but that the system, and families, remained broken.
"No amount of tinkering, over generations, has produced the shifts required to release the 70-plus percent of children in the care of Oranga Tamariki who are Māori from the clutches of its grip. This is the reality for tamariki Māori trapped in a system that's failed them decade in, decade out."
The Minister for Children, ACT's Karen Chhour, said the legislation would allow the public to trust the Independent Children's Monitor's independence.
The legislation was part of ACT's coalition agreement with National.
"Having this independence and having this independent oversight, and also having the extra accountability of the additional reporting for agencies, and to have to respond to that reporting and to have to keep coming back and showing their progress in those recommendations, adds that extra bit of accountability to make sure that it's not just another report that sits on a shelf and grows cobwebs while people forget all about it," Chhour said.
The bill passed under urgency, with its second reading, committee stage, and third reading occurring consecutively.
The legislation would be reviewed in five years' time.
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