Children’s Minister Karen Chhour needs to reverse the Government’s funding cuts putting at risk the jobs of more than 300 frontline workers providing vital care for 4000 vulnerable children.
Children’s charity Stand Tū Māia (which evolved out of the Children's Health Camps) is today taking urgent legal action against Oranga Tamariki for unilaterally reneging on a three-year $21 million contract after only six months.
The contract funds Stand Tū Māia to provide specialised trauma treatment and wraparound support for families with complex needs living with multiple forms of adversity.
Oranga Tamariki plans to end funding under its Stand Tū Māia contract on 31 December 2024. This would see more than 300 workers, the majority of which are registered social workers, lose their jobs from 4 January 2025, says Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Assistant Secretary Melissa Wooley.
"It is totally unacceptable that the support for 4000 vulnerable children and their families, and the jobs of more than 300 workers should be axed so suddenly, with no thought to the consequences," Woolley says.
"Children’s Minister Karen Chhour needs to step up and put a stop to this appalling and cold-hearted decision which comes just weeks after the Prime Minister delivered an apology in Parliament to the survivors of abuse in care.
"Minister Chhour needs to act quickly to ensure that the Government does not trigger another round of unnecessary suffering and trauma for a new generation of vulnerable children and by so doing write another dark chapter in the history of this country.
"It is unacceptable for the Minister to hide behind the convenient excuse that this is merely an ‘operational matter’. She needs to urgently intervene and ensure Oranga Tamariki has the fundin git needs to honour the contract it signed with Stand Tū Māia," Woolley says.
"Not only is the Government not honouring a contract it signed but it is once again breaking its promise to New Zealanders that spending cuts would not affect frontline services.
"This is just a further example of how the Government’s decision to prioritise funding tax relief for landlords and support for tobacco companies is seeing public services being cut in communities across the motu," Woolley says.
"This is a Government of broken promises," Woolley says.
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