6. Question No. 6—ChildrenJENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister for ChildrenQuestion No. 6—Children6. JENNY MARCROFT (NZ First) to the Minister for Children: What are the findings of the Oranga Tamariki Practice Review into the Hastings Case?Hon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): The review says that there were legitimate reasons to be concerned about the safety of the baby and so Oranga Tamariki were right to be involved with the family. However practice standards and actions both before and during the events of May show significant failings. The events in May should not have happened and the trauma caused to all involved could have been avoided if there had been more effort placed on building good relationships with both the parents and the whānau as well as the NGO workers and midwives who were also supporting this family. Too much reliance was placed on historical information without acknowledging changes the family had made to minimise safety concerns for baby and the systems in place to check decisions didn't work. The findings are extremely disappointing but I do want to commend the review and the reviewers for their honesty. It confirms the need to press on with the changes that began under the previous Government and all the changes under this Government to look after children better and to stop them coming into care in the first place.Jenny Marcroft: What changes have been made in light of the review?Hon TRACEY MARTIN: All of the recommendations of the review have been accepted by Oranga Tamariki and it has put five changes in place immediately. These are: unless there is a clear need for action to protect a child from immediate and imminent danger all interim custody order applications will now be made on notice to ensure the family is given the opportunity to have their say before a judge makes a final decision; when staff need to act faster to keep a child safe every section 78 without notice application will go through additional checks with a regional legal manager a site manager and a practice manager all signing off; additional investment will be made into staff training nationwide and greater supervision for family group conferences; practice leaders on every site will look at all reports of concern for unborn and newborn babies and check that we put the right planning and assessment around vulnerable mothers at the earliest opportunity; and in Hastings more resources and training will be provided to staff and a new regional supervisor has been appointed.Jenny Marcroft: What further changes do you see as necessary as a result of the findings of this review?SPEAKER: Order! I don't find any necessary but the Minister may answer the question.Hon TRACEY MARTIN: In addition to the changes already announced I have informed Oranga Tamariki of my expectations to review the subsequent child provisions to make sure there are no unintended consequences from these. I also want to ensure there is a path back for those parents who have turned their lives around to improve the internal complaints process and to drive the culture change and better support the front line. I also expect them to improve relationships with and devolve over time the delivery of services to hapū iwi and Māori organisations especially in the area of prevention and early intervention. The staff I meet are absolutely committed to caring for children and they have a really difficult job doing just that but front-line practice has to reflect the bigger changes we want to make. We need to do better for all our children but our focus must be to partner with Māori to turn results around for Māori. Strategic partnerships real partnerships with iwi and Māori organisations so they are involved in helping families and children much earlier and at every stage—these are vital to achieve these outcomes.