RNZ
The government promises it is putting the welfare of children first in its moves to get rid of Section 7AA of the Children’s Act, but the step is deeply unpopular, with warnings it will set back efforts to make tamariki safer.
The Children’s Minister, ACT’s Karen Chhour, has been forced to repeatedly defend the move in media interviews and in Parliament, adamant it will go ahead despite the overwhelming submissions against the repeal at the select committee and outcry from iwi leaders.
Section 7AA binds Oranga Tamariki to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and means the chief executive of the agency is required to work in partnership with iwi and hapū, and to report on those relationships to Parliament once a year.
