KEY POINTS:
Child abuse is a Maori issue and it's time the nation faces that fact, says former Maori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels.
The horrific treatment of 3-year-old Nia Glassie sparked a national outcry following allegations she was spun on a clothesline and put in a clothes drier which resulted in serious brain injuries for the Maori toddler. Nia, from Rotorua, died from her injuries in Auckland's Starship hospital on Friday.
Mr Samuels, Labour list MP for Northland, said it was time for New Zealanders to accept responsibility.
"It is a Maori issue. [Maori] are over-represented [in the child abuse statistics]. Every time we hear of another child abuse case, everybody gets on their bandwagon and starts pointing the finger. It's a cop-out," he said.
"They blame police, Child, Youth and Family and other government services and the neighbours for not dobbing them in, meanwhile, the animals that committed the crime are out of the limelight."
Mr Samuels said pouring funds into social service initiatives, Maori trusts and campaigns was a waste of money.
"The situation isn't getting any better - it's getting worse, they aren't working," he said.
The solution was identifying the source of the problem. "Until we come to terms with the core of the issue and unveil why these people commit these crimes it will continue."
He said stepping into the shoes of the person committing the offence was the first step.
"We call these people animals, yet animals nurture their young. These people are a lot worse."
He had little confidence there would be any improvement.
"Do you think things will be any different from now in five years' time - I doubt it. Twenty thousand Maori marched to Wellington in a hikoi to protest the seabed and foreshore. Nobody dies collecting oysters," Mr Samuels said.
"Yet here we are facing a very fundamental issue where our mokopuna are being abused and murdered. It's hypocrisy of our [Maori] values."
- Northern Advocate
