Children's Minister gives Oranga Tamariki a new set of instructions

Children's Minister Karen Chhour has handed Oranga Tamariki a new set of instructions to keep the agency accountable and transparent. 

Chhour has outlined five new measures she expects to be reported on every quarter, including the number of children able to to access a social worker.

Bluelight Operations Manager Rod Bell joins Ryan Bridge on Early Edition to discuss. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Children's Minister Karen Shaw has handed Orranga Tamadiki a new
set of instructions to keep the agency accountable and transparent.
She's outlined five new measures she expects to be reported
on every quarter. They include things like how many children
in care access a social worker in a two month period.
Addressing youth offending, she wants to see a fifteen percent

(00:20):
cut in the persistent offending. The Blue Light Operations manager
Rod Bella is with us this morning. Rod, Good morning,
thanks for being on the program that you're obviously your
charity does go great work. You run youth camps and
programs and support with alongside police for young people. I
just wonder with all the cuts that the government's making

(00:41):
at the moment, have you guys been affected by those?

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Are we have? We have been a little bit, but
you get on and you continue to make a positive
impact that at Hurst, we have lost some of our programs.
You know, we've shown our programs they would have been
of seven dollars ten th every dollar invested, so that
that has impacted us, but most importantly it impacted some

(01:09):
of our services.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
Yeah, what does it meant for your services? What have
you had to cut back?

Speaker 2 (01:14):
It's probably unfortunately in the proactive area. So are we
still doing a lot of work with young people who
have been in trouble and working to make sure that
they get back and get into work and get into
more positive outputs. But some of the programs which are
before young people get into trouble as the ones that

(01:35):
have been affected, which is really would much prefer to
see that happen before they get in trouble rather than
wait to work with them once they are.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
So coming to these goals that the ministers set for
OT you know, fifteen percent reduction in young people serious
persistent offending, I mean the fact that you've had funding
cut to a program that's going to achieve exactly that
outcome seems counterintuitive to me.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Yeah, it does. Look I think the outline measures are
pretty basic in a way, and they should be what's
been written. It should happen automatically. You would think there's
nothing in there icee of particularly complication. We all want
our kids to wake up healthy and safe and well
and not none of them get hurt and be well

(02:26):
looked after if they have to be in care. But
you know, the fifteen percent reduction, that's great. Sometimes figures
are figures. I think what you need is to have
people feel in the community that there safe.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah. Absolutely, Rod, thank you so much for that. Rod Bell,
the operations manager at blue Light, responding there to Karen
Shaw's direction for auditing a tamadiki. The time is fourteen
after fight.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
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Speaker 1 (02:52):
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