Malachi Subecz’s death: Mum speaks out - ‘a harsh lesson’

The mother of slain child Malachi Subecz has broken her silence the day after a damning report into the care the young boy was given by government agencies.

In a statement, the woman said there were “no words” that could describe the “emotions I have felt over this past year”.

“Something like this I would not wish upon anyone. I’ve made my mistakes, all of which I live with every single day,” she said.

“All I hope to come from this is this does not happen to other parents doing a lag who have kids.

“Do not trust anyone with your kids who aren’t family.

“A harsh lesson I’ve learnt in the worst possible way. I want to thank every single person who has genuinely supported me and helped me through the toughest time of my life. Especially those who were there.”

Malachi, 5, was murdered by his carer after he was left with her when his mother was sent to prison.

The death of five-year-old Malachi Subecz is prompting calls from Te Pāti Māori for Kelvis Davis to resign as Minister for Children. Photo / Supplied

The damning review of six government agencies found “critical gaps” in New Zealand’s child protection system, which allowed vulnerable children to “become invisible” to them. Its author, Dame Karen Poutasi, recommended sweeping changes to the child protection, education, welfare and health sectors to create a “hard-wired safety net” and prevent further tragedies.

Malachi was murdered by his carer Michaela Barriball, who was jailed for a minimum of 17 years in June. He was placed in Barriball’s care by his mother when she was jailed last year.

After his death, the review was commissioned by the Corrections Department, New Zealand Police and the education, children’s, health and social development ministries to identify any gaps in the system and investigate whether more could have been done to protect him.

Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis immediately agreed to most of the report’s recommendations, including greater information-sharing between agencies and public awareness campaigns for the public about child abuse “red flags”.

But he did not commit to the review’s more substantial recommendations: mandatory reporting of child abuse and automatic vetting of caregivers for children whose sole parent has been jailed.

Although he was “truly sorry” for Oranga Tamariki’s failings, he warned against “knee-jerk reactions”.

Mandatory reporting had been considered and rejected by three successive governments because of concerns about how it could swamp the system.”I’d like to look at their reasons for rejecting it and whether those reasons are still valid,” Davis said.

On Thursday, the same day as the report’s release, the review of Malachi Subecz’s care before his death showed a “long list of fatal errors” and confirmed that his death was preventable, his family said.

”There is no doubt that Malachi would still be alive if Oranga Tamariki had acted appropriately,” said the uncle and maternal cousin of the 5-year-old.

The review, published yesterday, listed a series of encounters with agencies, medical staff, whānau and friends in which chances were missed to intervene and protect Malachi.

At one point, Malachi, his family and Barriball had 14 interactions with six agencies in the space of nine days, some of them on the same day.

When Malachi was placed in the care of his mother’s friend in June last year, the courts had no authority to intervene or even oversee this decision or to alert Oranga Tamariki.

Barriball then contacted the Ministry of Social Development to apply for a parent’s benefit - another instance in which her care for Malachi was brought to the attention of authorities. The day after she became Malachi’s carer, his cousin made a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki.

This report of concern was closed after Oranga Tamariki received assurances from his mother in prison that she had no concerns. A photo from Facebook that allegedly showed bruising on Malachi was not considered compelling evidence of risk.

Davis revealed on Thursday that three senior staff at Oranga Tamariki who were involved in the case no longer worked at the organisation, either leaving of their own accord or going through “employment processes”.

Call for family liaison appointments

Meanwhile, justice advocacy groups say the Government should be doing more to address child abuse, RNZ reported.

Another organisation which supports the children of prisoners, Pillars, said the answer to child abuse would not be found in Oranga Tamariki alone. Two advocacy groups have written an open letter to ministers, calling for a family liaison role in each court.

Pillars senior mentoring coordinator Corrina Thompson said this person would be the first point of contact for a family when deciding how a child whose parent was sent to prison should be cared for.

“We do not think that all the answers will be found in Oranga Tamariki, but more so for the automatic process from the court to first begin with a whānau outreach liaison role that would meet face-to-face with families and begin co-designing that care plan.”

Families needed to be able to trust the process, which needed to be mana-enhancing, she said. The liaison could then connect families to any necessary agencies.

Thompson said the vast majority of children who had a parent in prison were living with their mother or a member of their wider whānau such as their grandmother.

She told Morning Report caregiver vetting alone was a rudimentary tool and could give a false sense of security.

Oranga Tamariki should spend face-to-face time with potential caregivers to get to know them.

Pillars also had reservations about mandatory reporting which it believed was too blunt a tool. Relatives had expressed concern about the treatment of Malachi but they were not listened to and nothing had been done to prevent his death.

“What we are advocating for is a more wrap-around approach that includes a wider village of organisations, preferably those who already know the whānau, where there is trust already established.”

Organisations including OT needed the resources to provide the wraparound approach, she said.

Ruth Money. Photo / RNZ

Family want detailed response

Advocate for the family, Ruth Money, said there were few surprises in the report.

It was heartbreaking for the family who had lived through “the nightmare” of Malachi’s death.

The family would like to meet with the Prime Minister and Children’s Minister to find out their response.

An apology from Jacinda Ardern and Kelvin Davis would be empty without a detailed response to the report so that the family’s ordeal did not happen to other families.

As far as mandatory reporting was concerned, it sounded like a copout if the Government did not introduce it.

“The system is absolutely dysfunctional... Mandatory reporting which has already been recommended before, it’s worked in Australia and it absolutely could work here.

“We can design a system that would mean we save our children.”

It was beyond belief that the discussion was still having to be held, she said.

Money was also critical of the lack of vetting of potential caregivers in cases where sole parents were sent to prison.

Meanwhile, the Early Childhood Council said some teachers were scared to report child abuse when they were not 100 per cent sure it was happening.

Chief executive Simon Laube said teachers had no doubt they needed to report blatant abuse, but sometimes it was a grey area.

“I’m not sure I’d say mandatory reporting is required, but you need a legal protection for people to go out on a limb and report something where they only just suspect it.”

But it was not just about rules - Laube said teachers also needed support and training to recognise and respond to child abuse.

- Additional reporting: RNZ