Staff at a charitable trust working with Northland’s most vulnerable kids held crying families as they told them their services were under threat. 

Stand Tū Māia plans to take Oranga Tamariki to court over its decision to terminate a three-year funding contract worth $21 million a year. 

The organisation is seeking a court injunction and the existing contract enforced, to stop the government department from acting as if it has been cancelled. 

Oranga Tamariki is refusing to speak publicly about the events as the matter is before the courts. 

Stand Tū Māia provides about 4000 at-risk youths nationwide with trauma treatment, family therapy and other wraparound support. 

The organisation offers the only service of its kind in Northland and is considered a last resort when children are failed by other services. 

The Advocate understands Oranga Tamariki first suggested cancelling its contract and negotiating a new one in July. 

In November Stand Tū Māia was told it would not receive a payment due on December 15 for the next six months of its contract. 

A new contract would be negotiated to begin from July 1, 2025. 

In Northland, Stand Tū Māia works in partnership with iwi, hapū and other agencies as well as schools across the region from the Hokianga to Whangārei. 

Northland regional manager Rosey Davies said she did not know what the news meant for the 230 children under their services. 

Another 50 are on the waitlist. 

“As we broke the news to whanāu that we were working with over the last few years, we’ve held our parents as they’ve cried,” Davies said. 

“They’ve expressed their disbelief, their anger and their despair and questioned ‘who is going to help us now?’.” 

Hokianga learning support co-ordinator Julia Parker believed if Oranga Tamariki went through with the funding cut, children could die. 

She has met seven children living in a home without parents, who had to ask neighbours for food and seen homes that were lean-tos on fences. 

“It hasn’t improved either,” Parker said. 

“At the beginning of this year, we had to deal with kids who were living on the beach. That was just unbelievable.” 

Parker said Stand Tū Māia was a last resort for these children. 

“What do we do as a society with children who are the most abused, most neglected?” 

Davies said 75% of their Northland clients are known to Oranga Tamariki. 

New Zealand Principals’ Federation president Leanne Otene said the closure of Stand Tū Māia would be devastating for Northland. 

“These activities are used as therapies by professional social workers to address the damage caused by child trauma, family violence and other issues related to poverty. 

“It [Northland] is one of the best models in the country to address the complex and traumatic lives of some of our most vulnerable families and it would be an absolute tragedy if this was shut down.” 

Otene could not understand why the Government would walk away from such a successful programme. 

“In a country with yawning inequities and growing child poverty, Stand Tū Maia is a bright light of hope that we must protect and cherish.” 

An emotional Davies said despite ongoing uncertainty, all 40 of her staff have continued turning up for the families that need it. 

From the cooks who put extra love into the children’s kai, to the staff who tuck babies into bed at night, it takes heart and compassion to do the job, she said. 

Stand Tū Māia chief executive Dr Fiona Inkpen claimed the government agency has committed an “egregious breach of good faith” by threatening to cancel the contract. 

Minister for Children Karen Chhour has previously said that as part of Oranga Tamariki's contract process it reviewed existing and future planned funding. Photo / NZME 

Oranga Tamariki did not respond to questions put forward by the Northern Advocate. 

They have declined to comment to other media. 

Minister for Children Karen Chhour previously told NZME that Oranga Tamariki reviewed existing and future planned funding for providers as part of its annual contract process. 

“Contracting is an operational decision, and as this is now a legal matter, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further,” she said. 

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.