Oranga Tamariki last year launched a review of the absconding event, the results of which were expected to be released early in 2025. During an interview with the Herald on February 14, deputy chief executive and pilot lead Iain Chapman said the review was “within days” of being released.
On Thursday morning, Oranga Tamariki released a “summary” of what it refers to as a “practice opinion” undertaken by the Office of the Chief Social Worker. It says that for privacy reasons and because the review contains sensitive information, it will not provide the opinion in full.
“The Practice Opinion concluded that the decision-making, planning, actions and responses in relation to supporting this young person to attend the tangi were both reasonable and in line with practice expectations and the legal framework,” a statement said.
“Whilst the review did not find fundamental failures in the way that the young person’s attendance was managed, there are lessons to be learned which will be applied to our practice when enabling young people to have leave from a residence to attend tangi in the future.”
It said the “key insight” was the need for kaimahi (staff) to have “full understanding of the legal framework in which they were operating prior to, during, and after the tangi”.
“The young person was in the custody of the chief executive for care and protection reasons, was detained in the custody of the chief executive for youth justice purposes and had been granted bail for the day.”
Oranga Tamariki is in charge of the military-style academy pilot. Photo / Jason Oxenham
No details about alleged reoffending
Oranga Tamariki is also still refusing to provide details about instances of alleged reoffending during the community stage of the MSA pilot, which has now reached its midpoint. It began last July with 10 participants in a youth justice residence for three months, followed by a nine-month period back in the community.
In December, the Heraldreported that a third participant of the bootcamp pilot was facing charges. Oranga Tamariki at that point clamped down on updates about the participants, saying it was aware of the impact the public scrutiny was having on the youths and their families. It said it would provide updates in “exceptional” circumstances or at “appropriate milestones”.
With the MSA community stage at its halfway point, an update was released by Chapman on Thursday that shed little light on the status of the participants.
“The transition back to [the] community has been challenging for some of the young people participating. In particular, I want to acknowledge the tragic death of one of the rangatahi [young people] in November, which has been felt heavily by the nine other young people on the pilot,” Chapman said.
“We have always had realistic expectations that some degree of reoffending was likely with this group of young people. We can confirm that there have been cases of alleged reoffending during this community stage.
“For reasons we have previously stated, including the privacy and wellbeing of the young participants and the impact of the intense level of public scrutiny on them and their whānau, we will not be going into any details of this alleged offending at this point.”
Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime. Photo / Mike Scott
Labour’s children’s spokeswoman Willow-Jean Prime told the Herald: “We’re seeing greater indication from officials that there’s been more reoffending in the bootcamps.
“The minister should stop stonewalling this information to save face – we need to know if this experiment has failed, as many warned it would.”
The Herald has contacted Children’s Minister Karen Chhour’s office for any comment on today’s update.
In late March, Prime asked Chhour if anyone in her office had indicated to Oranga Tamariki to not release the alleged reoffending figures.
Chhour said she hadn’t directed anyone at the agency to withhold the rates of reoffending.
“The intense focus on this small group of young people from media and negative attention for political reasons was having a real negative effect on them, their wellbeing, and their families and whānau,” the minister said.
She added that if any of her staff had “reiterated to Oranga Tamariki my expectation that the privacy, safety and wellbeing of these young people comes first, then I applaud them for it”.
Prime said on Thursday that both Chhour and the Prime Minister had made a “whole song and dance” when they announced the pilot, and “are covering up now that it’s failed”.
Chhour has previously said the reoffending of some participants shouldn’t ruin the opportunities being afforded to others. The Prime Minister has acknowledged the programme “won’t be perfect”, but said it was intended to address the “toughest, most serious young offenders” and make “powerful interventions” in the boys’ lives.
Children's Minister Karen Chhour says privacy is a key priority. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Chapman previously told the Herald he understood his obligation to inform the public but argued the intense scrutiny in recent months had taken its toll on the youths.
In the update on Thursday, Chapman said the purpose of the MSA pilot was to “trial a new approach to how we work with the small population of young people in New Zealand who have a pattern of serious and persistent offending behaviour, due to their complex and challenging backgrounds”.
“This 12-month programme aims to give the young people taking part opportunities and equip them with the skills and motivation to make positive choices. We want to see them to thrive within their whānau and communities. Ultimately, any reduction in offending reduces the wider cost to society and improves safety for us all.”
He said an evaluation of the residential stage of the pilot was “largely positive”.
“The evaluation noted the young people were settled and engaged during their time in the youth justice residence, responding positively to the structure and routine provided by a multi-disciplinary team of social workers, health, culture and education specialists and a senior psychologist.
“While in the community stage, each young person continues to be supported by a team including a social worker and mentor, as well as ongoing programme activity. Individual plans address health and wellbeing needs, encourage further education and teach employment and life skills such as shopping and cooking. Oranga Tamariki also continues to work with their whānau; for example, a parenting programme is offered.”
Legislation making the programme permanent remains before Parliament. Opposition MPs, including Prime and the Greens’ Tamatha Paul, have called on the Government to not push it through until the pilot can be fully evaluated.
The bootcamp policy attracted significant criticism when it was announced during the election campaign, with Opposition politicians pointing to previous bootcamps that had little impact on reoffending.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
