Oranga Tamariki - Perceptions of blame.

I parted ways with my social work Master’s degree with the last re-write of legislation. 

Whanau placement children have demonstrably worse outcomes than general placement children because there is a problem with inter-generational disfunction (what is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly). So, if it all REALLY is about what is best for the children, and not a massive power trip the likes of Turia and Raukawa-Tait are embarking on, then it should be as Henerae O'Keef says, that "it doesn't matter if foster parents are black, brown, white, purple or green, they need to have the love for children and a passion in their future".

No one alive today has been colonised or has colonised anyone. Every single person has a choice. Both Maori and Pakeha choose to become addicts, or abuse/neglect their kids. (Remember Maori campaigned to be allowed access to booze in 1947 - now there's some campaigning to prevent Maori access to booze, South Auckland Maori Warden David Ratu and a women in Hawk's Bay). But it's still, and the drugs, apparently Pakeha's fault.

I am told constantly that “Māori were never asked for Pākeha intervention, it was decided by Pākeha that they would intervene anyway."  As if it’s ok with them standards for Maori children should be lower than other children.  No. All children deserve love, care and a decent standard of living (with no abuse) and if families aren’t providing that there needs to be intervention. 

Maori have been part of government decisions for a very long time.  To pretend decisions made by formerly CYFs, and now OT is disingenuous. For example "Instruction in the mission schools was strictly confined to the scriptures, and reading and writing in the Māori language only", and there was high literacy among Maori.  It was a Maori decision that education in 'Native Schools' be in English with a petition to parliament of 337 Maori elders asked 'that there should not be a word of Maori allowed to be spoken in the school. 

I am also told child abuse didn’t exist before Pakeha and that Maori children were stolen to be slaves, and this is where abuse was learnt.  Such a one-eyed view.  Shall we discuss the Chatham Island Moriori and inter-tribal slavery and brutality? No, because that is in the past and as far as I am concerned has no bearing on how anyone chooses to raise their family. 

If these claims are the reason why Maori are so high in OT's stats, how come most Maori can and do look after their kids beautifully.


Ref: 

https://trc.org.nz/sites/trc.org.nz/files/Maori%20language%20and%20the%20Pakeha%20education%20system.pdf


http://www.ahw.org.nz/Portals/5/Resources/Documents-other/2017/Maori%20%26%20Alcohol%20%20history.pdf 


https://mro.massey.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10179/1612/02_whole.pdf




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