Malachi Subecz's death has led to several reviews, including one released yesterday identifying multiple failings in the system. Photo:
Justice advocacy groups say the government should be doing more to address child abuse.
It follows yet another damning report into the death of Malachi Subecz. The five-year-old boy suffered months of abuse at the hands of his carer, Michaela Barriball, including being beaten and burned, before he was murdered in November last year.
Malachi was placed in Barriball's care when his mother was sentenced to prison early last year. His wider whānau complained to the state's welfare agency several times, concerned about his safety, but no action was taken.
Yesterday a report by an independent panel found five gaps in the system, and made 14 recommendations. The government said it would adopt nine and "look carefully" at the remaining five - which included the mandatory reporting of child abuse.
Minister for Children Kelvin Davis said this could lead to genuine cases being missed amid a deluge of new complaints. He said there were already 70,000 reports of concern made annually and regulating reports could push that number up to half a million.
However, the executive director of advocacy organisation JustSpeak, Apiphany Forward-Taua, said the government's approach was lazy and unacceptable.
"To fall back on the excuse that it could create more work for them is frankly unacceptable," she said.
"They have millions of dollars that they could invest to make sure that there's a function purely for that oversight."
Another recommendation the government had not committed to was that Oranga Tamariki should vet carers when a sole parent was arrested or taken into custody. Forward-Taua said while the need to vet carers was obvious, the responsibility should not lie with an agency which had continually failed families.
The report followed an October report by Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier, which described Oranga Tamariki's response as "a litany of failures".
Call for family liaison appointments
Another organisation which supports the children of prisoners, Pillars, said the answer to child abuse would not be found in Oranga Tamariki alone. The two advocacy groups have written an open letter to ministers, calling for a family liaison role in each court.
Pillars senior mentoring coordinator Corrina Thompson said this person would be the first point of contact for a family when deciding how a child whose parent was sent to prison should be cared for.
"We do not think that all the answers will be found in Oranga Tamariki, but more so for the automatic process from the court to first begin with a whānau outreach liaison role that would meet face-to-face with families and begin co-designing that care plan."
Families needed to be able to trust the process, which needed to be mana-enhancing, she said. The liaison could then connect families to any necessary agencies.
Thompson said the vast majority of children who had a parent in prison were living with their mother or a member of their wider whānau such as their grandmother.
She told Morning Report caregiver vetting alone was a rudimentary tool and could give a false sense of security.
Oranga Tamariki should spend face-to-face time with potential caregivers to get to know them.
Pillars also had reservations about mandatory reporting which it believed was too blunt a tool. Relatives had expressed concern about the treatment of Malachi but they were not listened to and nothing had been done to prevent his death.
"What we are advocating for is a more wraparound approach that includes a wider village of organisations, preferably those who already know the whānau, where there is trust already established."
Organisations including OT needed the resources to provide the wraparound approach, she said.
"What we are advocating for is a more wraparound approach" - Pillars senior mentoring coordinator Corrina Thompson
Family want detailed response
Advocate for the family, Ruth Money, said there were few surprises in the report.
It was heartbreaking for the family who had lived through "the nightmare" of Malachi's death.
The family would like to meet with the prime minister and children's minister to find out their response.
An apology from Jacinda Ardern and Kelvin Davis would be empty without a detailed response to the report so that the family's ordeal did not happen to other families.
Ruth Money. Photo: RNZ / Niva Chittock
As far as mandatory reporting was concerned, it sounded like a copout if the government did not introduce it.
"The system is absolutely dysfunctional... Mandatory reporting which has already been recommended before, it's worked in Australia and it absolutely could work here.
"We can design a system that would mean we save our children."
It was beyond belief that the discussion was still having to be held, she said.
Money was also critical of the lack of vetting of potential caregivers in cases where sole parents were sent to prison.
"We can design a system that would mean we save our children" - Family advocate Ruth Money
Meanwhile, the Early Childhood Council said some teachers were scared to report child abuse when they were not 100 percent sure it was happening.
Chief executive Simon Laube said teachers had no doubt they needed to report blatant abuse, but sometimes it was a grey area.
"I'm not sure I'd say mandatory reporting is required, but you need a legal protection for people to go out on a limb and report something where they only just suspect it."
But it was not just about rules - Laube said teachers also needed support and training to recognise and respond to child abuse.