Arrun Jones: Independent Children's Monitor CEO urges Government agencies to update child protection standards after new report

Government agencies are being urged to get on with changes to child protections.

A review in 2022 after Tauranga five-year-old Malachi Subecz was murdered recommended sweeping changes.

The Independent Children's Monitor says they haven't happened, and children are no safer today than when Malachi died.

Chief Executive Arrun Jones says these findings are disappointing.

"We'd hoped to see more progress, so it's disappointing not to have seen that."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Zi be.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Okay, We've had another damning report into our child protection system.
This one's from the Independent Children's Monitor and they've looked
at the movement in the system since totaling a five
year old Malachi Shubch was murdered by his care and
now that happened three years ago. This report has found

(00:25):
absolutely no subsequent recommendations have been implemented by the children's
agencies and Orang Tamariki, and Orang Tamariki is being forced
to make decisions on staff availability rather than prioritizing at
child safety. So Aaron Jones is the chief executive at
the Independent Children's Monitor and he joins me, Now, hello, Aaron,

(00:48):
thank you, or Andrew, how frustrating is it to write
reports that nobody listens to.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Yeah, it's disappointing. You know, when Dame Karen asked us
to do this review, we'd hope to see more progress
than busy appointing not to have seen that.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
And so you're not surprised in any way, shape or form.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
I don't think surprised. I'd actually hope we would have
seen some change. I mean the things that Dame Kraen identified,
the gaps and recommendations these aren't you? And you said
onto a couple of decades of children being murdered, reviews
being done, recommendations made, So the issues she's raised aren't you.
We just need to see some action.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Now, Okay, So who's responsible for not taking action? Because
that's basically what your report has ended out saying. Rather
than looking at, you know, at the improvements, it's looking
at what hasn't happened. Who is responsible for nothing?

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Look, you know, the recommendations ask agencies to take action,
but some of these things also require government decisions and
potentially legislation to be passed. So there's a number of
players in this game.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
Okay, Well, one of them is alling a tamariki and
this this report comes out that they're making decisions on
staff availability rather than prioritizing a child safety. So why
are they making such decisions?

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Of What the report shows is that they're under pressure.
You've got a lot of reports of concern coming to them.
These are then going out to their sites and unfortunately
the social work is having to make tough decisions. And
what you see is inconsistent threshold around the country in
terms of when they can take action, and it's unduly
influenced by the number of staffs that are available in

(02:21):
those sites.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Whenever these sorts of things come up, with start hearing
about a lack of money. But do we have a
skill shortage? Do we actually have the people who are
competent to actually do these rather complex social interventions.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Well, one of the things that we spoke to on
on a tun of easy staff on the front line
and allso National Office, there was concerns about, you know,
whether they could get the staff and to do the work.
Some sites told us that they were told they couldn't
hire staff. But we've also heard that there's a real
shortage of social workers available to fill positions and that
you have a number of vacancies that they haven't failt I.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Bet they've got lots of managers. Here's a question for
you. You know, They're big debate is about Health New Zealand
and that the manager heavy but no front lane staff.
Is it the same for a tamariki and other agencies.
They've got lots of people who who talk about what
to do, but they've got nobody who can actually do
it well.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Like many agencies at the moment, they are making decisions
to remove positions in the back office and put them
into the front line, and we yet to see what
difference it will make. But our organization is there to
continue going out to see what impacts this might have
and whether some of these issues are being addressed. And
that's why although we've done this report today, we're going
to come back in twelve months and see what difference

(03:34):
may have been made by them.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
If you had a different hat on, if you were
in charge, what would you do.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
That's a really good question. Look, Dan Karen did say
that these are difficult issues to grapple with, but like
I said, they've been around for a while. I think
it's bigger than just looking at all a tomariki as
looking at the whole system. We need a really good,
well funded supported community sector because often it's NGO's maori
ev providers that can actually get there through the front door.

(04:00):
But when they see concerns, when they see young children
in need, they need to be able to report to
ord Anga Tamarigi and know that they will respond.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
All right, Aaron, I, thank you so much. Erin is
from the Independent Children's Monitor. He is the chief executive
of the report was written by Dame Karen Potassi and
It was written following the death of Malachae Su Bitch,
and she found that children are no safer now than
where Malachi died three years ago.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
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