9. Question No. 9—ChildrenHon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister for ChildrenQuestion No. 9—Children9. Hon WILLOW-JEAN PRIME (Labour) to the Minister for Children: How many Oranga Tamariki community service providers if any have had their funding increased and by how much if anything as a result of the Budget 2024 Reduction in Contracting Service Costs? Hon KAREN CHHOUR (Minister for Children): I'm advised that 34 services across 25 providers will have their funding increased with a total increase of at least $18.7 million. On top of that Oranga Tamariki (OT) will be procuring at least 50 new services and this will include additional services for high and complex needs and the expansion of the Fast Track programme by $7.6 million. I've asked OT to make sure that there's a more rigorous approach to contracting to ensure the $500 million worth of services it funds each year gets to where it will have the greatest impact. Under the last Government OT was allowing providers who were under-delivering on their contracts to keep unused funding they were funding services that weren't core business and they were duplicating services in various parts of New Zealand. If the last Government had taken this same approach to contracting now at least $132 million more could have gone to the children rather than letting some bank accounts build up. Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Can she confirm that the Independent Children's Monitor and the Chief Children's Commissioner have written to Oranga Tamariki stating that they had continued concerns on a range of aspects of the current change process given its potential detrimental impact for tamariki and whānau and if so what is she doing to reassure them? Hon KAREN CHHOUR: It is the same amount of funding—no cuts have been made to funding. What we are doing is reprioritising that funding to where it will make the biggest impact. Oranga Tamariki needs to go back to its core purpose. We can't keep the status quo and those organisations you're speaking to have said that over and over over the years Oranga Tamariki is not performing and needs to get back to what they should be doing: looking after our children's safety. Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Point of order Mr Speaker. My question was about whether she could confirm that the Independent Children's Monitor and the Chief Children's Commissioner have written to Oranga Tamariki about their concerns with the process and detrimental impacts on children and if so what is she doing to reassure them—the Independent Children's Monitor and the Chief Children's Commissioner. She didn't answer that. SPEAKER: Well I would have thought that the answer was her reassurance quite bluntly because you'd stated Government policy and stated that there were no funding cuts. Do you have another question? Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Sure. Can she provide an assurance that any funding changes to community service providers are in fact like for like and that there will be no gaps in service provision for all communities across the country and if not why not? Hon KAREN CHHOUR: Nobody has ever said it would be like-to-like services; what we've said is we are going to realign the money where it's going to make the greatest impact and where it is focusing on the core purpose of Oranga Tamariki which is the care and protection of children in their care. Hon Willow-Jean Prime: Does she share the concerns of the Chief Children's Commissioner and Independent Children's Monitor who have said Oranga Tamariki could not guarantee that transitional arrangements were in place but hoped they would be" and if not why not? Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I have been advised for services that will be discontinued provisions have been made to support partners and providers to wind down the services and to safely transition tamariki rangatahi and whānau receiving the services to another service. These provisions also allow for either a three- or six-month wind down depending on the terms of their contract.Hon Willow-Jean Prime: How do shambolic cuts to service providers poor communication with providers about their contracts and no assurance about transitioning children and family to alternative services fit with her stated commitment that child safety is her priority?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I actually refuse to stand here and be lectured by a member of that previous Government who made absolutely no progress when it came to the safety of the wellbeing of our young people. The state of Oranga Tamariki when I took over was absolutely disgusting and I'm not going to allow that to continue.Tākuta Ferris: Can the Minister explain why 10 percent of the rangatahi who are now involved in her new boot camp initiative left the programme and can she guarantee us that the other 90 percent won't?SPEAKER: Well look the Minister may choose to answer but that's very broad of the wickets on the primary question. But Minister might want to make a comment.Hon KAREN CHHOUR: I have been assured that that young person has been supported to complete their sentence at another youth justice residence. I've also been advised that there is one other young person who will be joining the programme so now there will be 10 young people within that programme and all of them are doing well.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Can the Minister please explain why there are 790 Māori tamariki who have entered Oranga Tamariki in the last eight months a record amount of tamariki?Hon Shane Jones: Ask the whānau.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: I'm asking the Minister. It's her role.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Ask your cousins.SPEAKER: That was—Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Point of order.SPEAKER: No—hang on. That was a supplementary question.Hon KAREN CHHOUR: Can you ask that question again?SPEAKER: Ask it again.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Can the Minister please explain why a record of 790 Māori tamariki have entered Oranga Tamariki in the past eight months?Hon KAREN CHHOUR: That would be a question for Oranga Tamariki in writing so they could give you a specific answer.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Point of order. I take offence to the Deputy Prime Minister who referred that we should go and ask our cousins when we asked the Minister this really important question. There is a record amount of Māori tamariki going into State care—SPEAKER: Yeah good you've made the point. And what I would make the point is that the member herself was very very—I suppose you'd say dancing around a pin the week before last making what some could consider to be very offensive remarks. So I suggest we just desensitise a little bit and move on.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Speaking to the point of order I have no issues with personally being attacked but I don't have any cousins who have children in Oranga Tamariki. And if I do—prove that.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Speaking to the point of order the reality is those of us who are Māori know that before we're going to have a renaissance with respect to what's going on with young people we have to fix our own place up first. I am saying it to every Māori including myself and not taking this judgmental view that she is.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: Point of order.SPEAKER: No.Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: I do not have any cousins—SPEAKER: No—wait on. Wait on a minute! Debbie Ngarewa-Packer: —with children in Oranga Tamariki.SPEAKER: Excuse me. I have ruled on this and we are moving on to question No. 10."