KEY POINTS:
Organisers of a Maori summit in Auckland this week aimed at combating child abuse say they want to produce a strategic plan containing concrete measures.
"The plan will be action-based," project manager Anton Blank said yesterday.
"I'm determined we don't just come out with some broad statement, but with an action plan."
About 100 people from Northland, Auckland and Waikato are attending the Maori Child Abuse Hui, which began with a memorial service and will run until tomorrow.
Those present include social, community and health workers,
The summit will close with the unveiling of the plan, which Mr Blank expected would have a heavy emphasis on communication - "branding, advertising, getting the message across".
He also believed research into countering abuse had to be more Maori specific.
Mr Blank said he and his uncle, Anglican minister and veteran activist Dr Hone Kaa, saw the need for a summit after the anti-smacking legislation was passed by Parliament in May.
The death of Rotorua 3-year-old Nia Glassie in August from injuries increased the sense of urgency.
"We've pulled it together quite quickly, but there's a really good feeling here," Mr Blank said.
"We're very confident we will come up with a good plan by Wednesday."
Among speakers was Lorinda Harding, manager of Child, Youth and Family at Otara in South Auckland, who touched on cases of "terrible abuse" she had seen during 13 years as a social worker.
The extent of the problem was borne out by the number of referrals to the agency.
There were 30,627 notifications to CYF from the northern region alone, from Cape Reinga to Auckland, from June 2006 to July 2007.
Of that total, 13,062 (42.6 per cent) were Maori. Of those 13,062, 4978 were children under 5.
Ms Harding said she hoped the summit would result in a greater focus on communities' taking responsibility for keeping children safe.
She said that would require a shared understanding of what constituted child abuse, how to intervene and a community acceptance that everyone was accountable.
- NZPA
