The family of Malachi Subecz are asking “How many more children are going to be failed by the system?” while politicians seek further advice on law changes recommended in the wake of his death.
The five-year-old was brutally murdered by his caregiver in November 2021, and his death led to national outrage and three official government inquiries.
Two investigated the failures of Oranga Tamariki staff after concerns were raised about Malachi while in the care of his eventual killer, which uncovered a number of mistakes.
The third review by Dame Karen Poutasi, who has a long and distinguished career in the public service, explored how government agencies could better work together to stop another child from slipping through the gaps.
The Poutasi report, published in December 2022, identified five “critical” gaps and made 14 recommendations to the then Labour government to fix them.
She also stressed that many of her conclusions repeated the findings of 33 previous reports on the topic of child abuse, written over the past 30 years.
“I find it unacceptable that I need to once again make similar findings about how the system is - or is not - interacting,” Dame Karen wrote.
“As a society, we cannot continue to allow a cycle of abuse, review, outrage and distress - and then retreat from the difficult challenges.”
Kelvin Davis, the Minister for Oranga Tamariki at the time, accepted nine of Dame Karen’s recommendations and ordered his agency to start work on implementing them.
But three of those accepted recommendations, relating to monitoring of child protection at early childhood centres and defining the responsibilities of various government agencies, were never passed into law.
Davis only pledged to “look carefully” at the other five recommendations, which included mandatory reporting of suspected abuse by professionals who work with children.
However, no decisions were made before Labour was removed from power at the election in October and the power now sits with a new Minister for Children, Act MP Karen Chhour.
The delays have frustrated the family of Malachi Subecz who fought to care for the little boy before his death.
Megan, who asked for her surname not to be published, sought guardianship of her cousin Malachi when his mother was sent to prison.
She also raised concerns with Oranga Tamariki about Michaela Barriball, the caregiver who went on to murder Malachi.
One year after the Herald revealed the full circumstances of how Malachi came to be in Barriball’s custody, Megan vented her frustrations about how little has changed since his death.
“It seems pointless to accept a recommendation if you are not willing and ready to take action. Which seems to be what has happened,” she told the Herald.
Of the five recommendations that the Labour, and now National-led governments, are seeking more advice on, Megan believed two would have made the most difference for Malachi: mandatory reporting of suspected abuse and the automatic vetting of caregivers when a solo parent is imprisoned.
But she is not optimistic that the necessary changes will be made, and questioned why the government was taking so long.
“Are they going to spend another two years ‘looking into’ it? How many more children are going to be failed by the system while the recommendations are ‘looked into?’,” Megan said.
In a written statement, Minister Karen Chhour did not give a timeline but said multiple government agencies have been working to address the recommendations of the Poutasi report.
“A robust process is being undertaken, which includes working with stakeholders across the children’s system,” Chhour said.
“Addressing the issues identified by Dame Karen Poutasi is important to me, but the remaining recommendations are significant, and some require legislative change, so I am currently seeking advice on those.”
Mandatory reporting of suspected abuse is likely to be the most controversial, according to a progress report published by Oranga Tamariki in September.
The children’s agency held 40 meetings with experts and professionals from across the social, health, education and justice sectors in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.
There were strong views both for and against mandatory reporting.
“Those in favour of mandatory reporting emphasise the benefits of increased case identification and opportunity for early intervention to prevent, and respond to harm,” the report said.
“Those opposed to mandatory reporting highlight resource and capability concerns, both in terms of Oranga Tamariki and community ability to respond to increased referrals.”
Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and is the author of Gangland and Gangster’s Paradise.
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