Lesley Max: Great Potentials Foundation Co-Founder on the crackdown on Oranga Tamariki after its handling of complaints

“It must be better than this” is the message from children's advocate Dame Lesley Max following the Chief Ombudsman's crack down on Oranga Tamariki.  

Peter Boshier has taken aim at the organisation over its handling of complaints against a man, accused of abusing his partner's young children, despite nine separate reports. 

Great Potentials Foundation Co-Founder, Max says it should not have gone unnoticed.  

She says it's striking there were nine reports of concern when in so many cases there are no reports of concern. 

OT says it's taken the Chief Ombudsman's recommendations on board. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Another day, another report from an onmwordsman who highlights issues
that are rung a Tomriki. So they failed to investigate
reports of violence and assault against pre and primary school children.
There were nine reports, seven different parties. Co founder of
the Great Potentials Foundation, Dame Leslie Maxi's back, Leslie, morning
to you.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Good morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
This seems systemic. There seems that nobody seems to be
able to turn around. Ot can they do you hold
out any hope at all or not?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Well? Look, I know that they have a minister who
is very intent on doing that, and she has that
you prize prize characteristic of lived experience. She knows what
it's like to be a child in the system, So
I think she's highly motivated. It is a big ship

(00:46):
and it does some things very well. Look this morning,
I've just been looking at their there so their Family
Start Direction's manual. Family Started something that I was instrumental
in introducing along with Brain were Trust and others years ago,

(01:08):
and it was for prevention and intervention of family violence,
of violence against children, maltreatment, and gosh, it's a wonderful manual,
but I don't know how it's all working. This is
what I don't know, and I don't know the extent
to which there was any connection between family start and

(01:33):
those scores of tortured and murdered babies and small children
that I have in my files makes horrendous reading. So
I don't know, Mike. All I know is it must
be better than this, And i'd say that, you know,

(01:57):
it's striking that there were nine reports of concern when
in so many cases there are no reports of concern.
But nine, you think would so.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
As somebody somewhere would see or do or say something,
you would you.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Would think so you would think. So. Look, the incidence
of child abuse and neglect has not gone down, and
you know you would think that it would have. But
the police data shows that the number of children under
fifteen reported as being victims of violent crime grew forty

(02:37):
one percent between in the five years to twenty twenty three.
I mean, that is that is huge. And I noticed
one thing from the material that I collect is that
it's not only stepfathers these days who are prominent in

(02:58):
this field, but fathers and the inability to deal with
babies and babies crying, and this is so fundamental. You know,
our kids go through God knows how many years of
compulsory education come out at the other end with no

(03:22):
knowledge whatsoever of how to be a parent, which most
of them will be. I think there is a.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Flaw there America, Jesus to say the least. Leslie listen,
appreciate your time, Dame Leslie Max. It seems we've got
no further ahead. We had a massive report recently into
treatment and care, and we thought, oh, that was in
the seventies, or wasn't it bad that it was in
the seventies. Andre, We are in twenty twenty four, and
we don't seem to have got any further For more
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