The latest version is from a group called Wahine Maori, a collection of high profile Maori women who continue to call for the resignation of the head of Oranga Tamariki and the Children's minister.
Seems Newshub is doing a hatchet job on Grainne Moss with lengthy investigations into her background and suitability to head up OT; complaints from current and former CYF/OT workers about the workplace culture, "bullying" and fudging of stats. That is not an exhaustive list.
I am in no position to know the truth. Indeed individuals have their own 'truth'.
I don't implicitly trust journalists. Neither do I automatically trust civil servants.
Perhaps the ongoing conflict is best summed up by these two views.
Head of OT responding to the Children's Commissioner investigation into the uplift of Maori babies:
“...although the role of the Children’s Commissioner is to support and advocate for the welfare of children, the report has focused on the experience of their mothers, and remains silent on the interest of their babies”.
And then, Mere Mangu, the CEO of the largest Iwi in Aotearoa, in an affidavit filed in the Waitangi Tribunal stated: “To me this statement demonstrates a very profound misunderstanding of our Tikanga and of the role of wāhine as mothers. It is of great offence to us that pēpi can be taken from their mothers in such callous, brutal and inhumane ways, let alone taken at all. In our tikanga, one cannot separate the interests of pēpi from the interests of their mothers. They share a sacred bond, which should not be so readily interfered with. They are intertwined biologically, spiritually, and by whakapapa.”
I wonder how long this standoff can continue?
2 comments:
One of the good things about the Treaty of Waitangi - and there are some - is that all New Zealanders came under the umbrella of Western civilization. Some mothers and families are not capable of caring for their children. If there is another way of doing this then by all means let’s hear about it. In the meantime uplift saves lives.
It appears to me that Maoridom tends to speak for the mother/hapu/Iwi with the wellbeing of the child a very poor second but then, as a Pakeha with only lose ties to Maoridom, what would I know.
Post a Comment