It has inevitably been heavily politicised, for example by the DomPost this morning. They like to bitch at the current Minister.
A crucial failing: while 58 percent of the children in care are Maori, the system often fails to meet their needs. Some extra senior Maori staff have been appointed, the report notes, but many Maori staff are overworked. Major change is needed here. What is the Minister, a Pakeha with no obvious empathy or experience in Maori issues, doing about it?So, the "system" often fails to meet the needs of Maori children.
First and foremost their parents and families failed to meet their needs.
All of these problems would disappear if every child had a parent or guardian dedicated to their needs. Pie in the sky? Not really. The Asian community almost achieves it.
The 0-17 Asian population in New Zealand is around 119,500 according to the last census. There were 237,500 Maori of the same age.
New Zealand, instead of overtly or covertly disapproving of Asians, should be looking at what they do that keeps their children safe and protected.
That would make more sense then yet another overhaul of CYF.
10 comments:
(I feel a generalization coming on...)
Asian culture is not a welfare/entitlement/victim culture.
Asian immigrants aren't nearly as badly affected by the destructive culture of modern liberalism that the rest are - drugs, easy divorce, children out of wedlock, welfarism etc.
Ms Mitchell, you seem to have no insight into the correlations between poverty, lack of education, crime, and joblessness. I'd suggest you read something - anything - to educate yourself so that you don't embarrass yourself further with your casual racism and complete ignorance of the lives of people less fortunate than yourself.
Dear H Clark -
You (and people like you) are part of the problem. You make the usual excuses - poverty, lack of education, crime, joblessness. You seem to suggest that Maori are completely helpless, unable to help themselves, and that "it's always someone else's fault" for the situation that many Maori find themselves in. "Less fortunate", as you put it.
I find that attitude not only sickeningly patronising but actually *harmful* to those that you profess to care about.
It absolves them of any responsibility for their situation (and responsibility to do anything about it.) It is a defeatist "the world sucks so why bother?" attitude.
You might think that attitude helps Maori - I don't.
You also seem to imply that Maori are exempt from criticism. Is *that* attitude not "racist"?
Lindsay has stated cold hard facts.
Facts are facts. Numbers can't be racist.
Lindsay has even put forward a possible *solution* to the problem - looking at these (Asian) families and learning from them to see what they are doing right.
Lindsay hasn't embarrassed herself at all but *you* have.
Maori (and for that matter, the government) can do with a lot *more* of the *fact-based* and honest reporting that Lindsay does, and a lot *less* of the patronising "low expectations" whining that you and the rest of the left-wing indulge in.
Also on the table you show, it can be seen that the number of white children in care of the CEO lowers over that time period and the Polynesian rate is also lower.
Makes for sober detail. Maybe this attention to fact is one reason the University of Otago bans access to your blog from an Otago computer. Did you know that?
Well said Tranquil
H Clark
Asians are 'poorer' than Maori as measured by both average and median weekly incomes.
So where is the correlation between poverty and crime? Or the correlation between poverty and lack of education?
If I'm practicing "casual racism" then so is the state by collecting data by ethnicity.
Also, you know nothing about my experience of people "less fortunate" than myself.
Your comment doesn't add anything useful to the subject which is, why are there so few Asian children in state care? Have you any ideas?
We know the reasons: Maori tale welfare. Asians don't. The state takes Maori children not Asian children.
The solution is obvious - as Lindsay keeps repeating ad infinitum - stop paying welfare
problem solved.
Maybe the real reason is that maori are less intelligent and dont understand the duty of being a parent . Its about the only possible reason that hasnt been used to date. Heaps of money, blaming colonization, blaming almost anything else, and all sorts of special treatment has so far done nothing to solve the problem so it has to be something else - it has to be intelligence - or lack of it.
Based on my small sample of 5 years volunteering with 'needy' families, the NZ Europeans were probably "less intelligent" based on their inability or unwillingness to get themselves out of a bad situation. And I had a good cross section of cases.
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