The Green Party is rejecting Education Minister Hekia Parata's claims that she first heard about the use of seclusion rooms in July, after parents revealed they had contacted her directly about the issue prior to that.
The controversial rooms, described as cell-like, were the subject of a series of complaints at Wellington's Miramar Central School.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Ms Parata yesterday announced plans to outlaw their use, but remains adamant she was only alerted to the use of the locked rooms in July this year, despite previous complaints from parents.
Victoria Turnbull wrote to the minister in May 2015, saying her own son had been put in a small, dark, cold room at Ruru Specialist School in Invercargill.
And back in 2013, Jacqui Flight is reported to have complained that her autistic grandson was kept in a storeroom at Arahunga Special School in Whanganui.
In both cases the Ministry of Education investigated and while it did not label either room as a "seclusion room" it did say they were inappropriate and ordered for them to be shut down.
Ms Parata maintains she only recently found out about seclusion rooms, because in the past the definition of the rooms was ambiguous.
"The sector was using it in lots of different ways. So time out rooms were sometimes being called seclusion, [as well as] safe rooms, sensory rooms and isolation rooms.
"And one of the things we are doing ... is making clear what the difference is between each of those," Ms Parata said.
The entrance to the discipline room at Miramar Central School. Photo: Supplied
But Green's education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty has accused Hekia Parata of playing semantics with children's lives.
"Whatever she wants to call it, however she wants to spin it, she was made aware that children were being locked in dark rooms in at least one school.
"And it's taken all this time to get any time of action. It's taken a public shaming. And I think that's a disgrace."
Ms Delahunty said the government should have acted as soon as they found out about the rooms.
"They've had a lack of urgency. They've actually not focused on children, what they focused on is giving advice in a weak way when schools are crying out for help for this challenging behaviour.
"They need to get behind the schools [and] support teachers to be able to deal with this issue properly," she said.
But Prime Minister John Key backed his education minister.
He said it was right to ban seclusion rooms and Ms Parata's decision to do so was not forced by public pressure.
"I think it's a bit harsh to be critical of her saying it takes too long, because [the seclusion rooms] have simply been there for a very long time," he said.
Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said it should not have taken a public outcry and an investigation by his office to stop the use of seclusion rooms.
The Ombudsman's office is investigating two complaints about the practice.
Mr Boshier said their use could be in breach of United Nations conventions that New Zealand is a signatory to.
"What's now happened ...is more reactive than I would have liked. I would like us in our obligations to be more proactive. It would have been nice if it hadn't taken the fact of our announcement of an investigation for there to have been this reaction."