Davis KelvinHon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Children): First of all I'd like to say that nobody is making excuses. I found out on 8 June about the first instance of alleged inappropriate behaviour Oranga Tamariki (OT) did address it and then just last Friday I heard of the second instance. So Oranga Tamariki has said that the second instance shows a bit of a pattern and that we need to get to the bottom of this and so the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki has appointed Mike Bush a former Commissioner of Police to act as deputy chief executive and to have authority over the Oranga Tamariki residences. This decision has been made in response to these serious allegations involving young people. Now while the news of the allegations today is incredibly disappointing appointing Mike to get to the bottom of these issues and ensure residences and community homes are safe is the right thing to do. It is the Government's expectation that children should feel safe and supported while in these facilities—no ifs or buts—and the Minister for Children has made that clear to Oranga Tamariki. Most staff are committed to just that and it is frustrating and disappointing that a small number of individuals have overshadowed the work that Oranga Tamariki has done. But the safety of young people must always come first and this move will ensure that. The two staff have been stood down immediately. As I said the first instance I heard of on 8 June—that staff member was stood down immediately then so I can't go any more into that because there is a police investigation. Mike Bush's first task will lead an independent rapid assessment across residences. This will then widen to all care and protection in community homes as there are also wider issues including facility security and staff retention to consider. This will take four weeks. Focus will then shift to Mike Bush implementing a new operating model building off work already under way. Shannon Pakura a member of the Minister's advisory board and former chief social worker will work alongside Mike Bush. All residence staff will be re-vetted during this process. This is common practice in New Zealand Police and the Department of Corrections but does not happen currently in Oranga Tamariki residences. These actions are the right thing to do and the safety of the children must come first. The absolute priority is the safety and wellbeing of these tamariki. Oranga Tamariki residences should be safe should be supportive and should be rehabilitative places for some of New Zealand's most vulnerable young people. We are working hard to ensure the whānau of the young people at the centre of this are kept informed and included as we support police to complete their investigations. It is no secret that Oranga Tamariki residences have their problems. We know that there is a need for significant improvement and that improvement needs to be led by someone who is coming in fresh but with significant experience which is why Mike Bush has been appointed. Mike is here to make sure that all our residences are operating safely and that they are fit for purpose. We have legal obligations to maintain residences for young people who commit crimes. We are already working towards moving away from care and protection residences towards community-based care. The Government's expectation is that these places are safe supportive and rehabilitative and we need to understand the full picture to understand what work is needed. As I've said the allegations raised today are very concerning and I am pleased that OT has acted swiftly to address them. There is significant work under way to transform Oranga Tamariki. It knows it has work to do and myself as the Minister for Children I have made my expectations clear. We are starting to see the results but it's not a fast or easy road and we know children must come first. There will never ever be an urgent debate asked for to discuss the tens of thousands of children that Oranga Tamariki helps every single year to stay out of care.One area of change has been to start transferring decision making to communities. We know communities have the solutions. A key part of the change under way at Oranga Tamariki is to enable communities to support tamariki and rangatahi to stay with family wherever possible. Oranga Tamariki continues to make fundamental changes in its approach to practice to better meet the needs of children and families and to allow social workers to work in complementary ways to iwi- Māori- and community-led approaches. Trials under way across the country to test out a new practice framework have been met with positive results and feedback from social workers and there are early reports of whānau and communities noticing changes in the way social workers are working with them. Funding shifts have also begun to reflect this approach. Iwi and Māori organisations received $155 million last year up from $55 million in 2017. Funding from recent Budgets has allowed Oranga Tamariki to be flexible and innovative in the partnerships space setting up the foundations for transformational change. So far nine prototypes across Waikato Taumarunui Ōtautahi Te Tai Tokerau and Heretaunga are participating in the Enabling Communities initiative. They are developing planning and leading their own prevention and early support prototype rather than Oranga Tamariki making the decisions. Of the nine prototypes six are at the stage where they are actively undertaking service design. Te Ara Mātua was launched in Hawke's Bay in April and is a Ngāti Kahungunu-led approach to provide support and care for tamariki and their whānau living in Te Matau-a-Māui. It is about putting resources and decision making at the hands of communities so they can lead the solutions for their tamariki and whānau. An example of this transformation is the prototype of the Enabling Communities work within Hawke's Bay. Te Ara Mātua aims to provide services and support to keep tamariki and their whānau out of the Oranga Tamariki system and to return those tamariki currently in the system to the protection of the whānau hapū and iwi. Under the korowai of Ngāti Kahungunu whānau with lived experience of Oranga Tamariki continue to guide the design and the development of the model. OT is also working closely with other agencies and we're making changes in the youth offending space. Late last year the Government announced the circuit-breaker" response to address serious repeat offending by a small group of children aged 10 to 13. The fast-tracked intervention means that when police apprehend a child information must be shared with Oranga Tamariki within 24 hours and a plan for the child confirmed in 48 hours. Hopefully this will keep those young people out of residences.The fast track involves establishing local coordination teams working across Government community organisations and iwi which take over receiving police referrals once set up. The response was launched in West Auckland and South Auckland with an expansion to central Auckland Hamilton and Christchurch announced as part of this year's Budget. This evidence-based approach works. In South Auckland and West Auckland only 26 percent of children have been re-referred by police. It is initiatives like this that will help transform the way we care for our children in need across the country. The Government is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of tamariki across the country both in and out of Oranga Tamariki residences. The decision Chappie Te Kani has made to appoint Mike Bush and get to the bottom of what's going on was the right one but there is no quick fix. In 2022-23 Oranga Tamariki responded to over 50000 reports of concern. Between the 2018 financial year and the 2022 financial year the number of children in care reduced by 25 percent from 6316 to 4722. We now have the lowest number of children and young people entering care since 2004—the lowest since the inception of Oranga Tamariki. In the last four years the number of tamariki in care as I've said has reduced by over 25 percent. Between the 2018 financial year and the 2022 financial year the number of uplifts has reduced by 73 percent from 1473 to 402. In the last five years the total funding given to Māori providers increased by 168 percent from $54.5 million to $146.1 million. [Interruption] They're asking what we have done. We have found out about the allegations. We have appointed Mike Bush to get to the bottom of these things. Now they'd be sitting there screaming if nothing was done; the fact that something has been done immediately—Matt Doocey: Well you haven't told us what you've done.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Well you didn't listen to the first half of the speech and that's your problem. The National and the ACT Government established Oranga Tamariki and it was failing right from the outset. It has taken me as Minister to actually start making the changes. It's taken me as Minister to start handing over resources and decision making to communities. Every single day—every single day—we were hearing complaints about Oranga Tamariki and now that's dried up. That was dried up carefully but there will be every now and then something like this where a staff member lets the rest of the team down. But that party over there had no answers when they were in Government—absolutely no answers. They changed the system but it failed. Christopher Luxon: Going political on a day like today? No not good enough. Hon KELVIN DAVIS: "Mr Tesla" there—"Mr Tesla" is pointing the finger—SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Yeah I'm going to make a ruling. When you're referring to another member in the House you need to refer to them in their correct name. You can't have nicknames.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I withdraw and apologise. This Government has been turning around what was a disgrace set up by the National Government in 2017. This Government—this Government—has reduced the numbers—Nicola Willis: On your watch—six years.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: —of offences. She can sit there screaming as much as she wants at me but the reality is that Oranga Tamariki is a better organisation than it was under the National Government when they established it. The numbers I've just said about the reduced numbers of children entering care—that's evidence.Matt Doocey: This isn't about that. It's about when they are in care how you keep them safe.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: That is evidence—yeah but the best way to care for children in residences is to make sure they don't get to the residences in the first place. But you are the Government that wants to arrest more and throw more people into residences into prison. That's the problem—that is the problem. The more children you put in there the worse things are going to be not just now but into the future. It is a disgrace that the National Party is sitting there and they are saying that they can do things better when their history is about failing children—Nicola Willis: You failed them.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: —failing young people. Nicola Willis' party is the party that failed young people and this is the party that is making the improvements to Oranga Tamariki. They can say what they want as much as they want. The reality is that their track record has been a record of failure in terms of protecting children.One final point I'd like to make: there has been a reference to the royal commission of inquiry and saying that we are repeating the things that have happened in the royal commission of inquiry. What happened over the 50 years of the royal commission of inquiry was systemic and it was enduring. This shows because the incidents happened very recently Oranga Tamariki has acted immediately. It shows that this is not systemic this is not enduring and this is not long-going. Oranga Tamariki has taken steps to get to the bottom of this problem and that's what Mike Bush will do. I commend the Chief Executive of Oranga Tamariki Chappie Te Kani for acting quickly for acting swiftly to make sure that we get to the bottom of it and that these sorts of things do not happen again."