Children's Minister Karen Chhour says they underestimated how much scrutiny the pilot teens would come under. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Children's Minister Karen Chhour says they underestimated how much scrutiny the pilot teens would come under. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Oranga Tamariki’s reviews into one bootcamp pilot participant’s death and absconding incidents from two others won’t conclude until the new year, the Children’s Minister expects.
It comes as Minister Karen Chhour accepts she and Oranga Tamariki underestimated the level of scrutiny the 10 pilot participants would be put under, while she also claims Opposition MPs are “excited” by the incidents amid their criticism of the Government’s military-style academy pilot to rehabilitate recidivist youth offenders.
However, the Opposition MPs leading the criticism of the bootcamp programme argue they are highlighting the flaws with the Government’s approach to youth justice.
One of the participants of the 12-month pilot died on November 27 in a car accident in Tīrau. There was no established link between the boy’s involvement in the pilot and the crash.
At the boy’s tangi the following week, another participant escaped his two Oranga Tamariki minders and went missing for days. He was joined by a second absconding bootcamp participant until the pair were found by police, having allegedly offended.
Chhour soon after told the Herald reviews had been launched by Oranga Tamariki into the death and absconding, but the agency had so far stayed quiet on its progress.
Children's Minister Karen Chhour speaks to reporters on developments with her military-style bootcamp pilot programme. Photo / Jamie Ensor
Speaking to the Herald yesterday, Chhour couldn’t provide specific dates when the reviews would conclude but expected to receive reports at the “very beginning of next year”.
Oranga Tamariki would not comment, a spokesperson reiterating a previous statement that confirmed the incidents were being reviewed.
Chhour would not provide an update on the two boys who had absconded and allegedly offended. However, she said the latest update she had received from Oranga Tamariki confirmed no more had absconded while three had faced charges.
Last week, Oranga Tamariki said it wouldn’t be providing further updates unless the circumstances were “exceptional or a matter of public safety”, citing the impact of the public scrutiny on the 10 teenagers and their whānau.
Chhour said staff who worked with the pilot participants were concerned the publicity would compromise their ability to find work.
“Who would want to hire young people where all they’re seeing is the negatives around the ones who have decided to re-offend?
“I just want to give these kids the biggest opportunity I possibly can and I feel that the negative impact of so much scrutiny may actually impact on those opportunities.”
The pilot was central to the Government’s youth crime policies and was one of the measures campaigned on as the coalition parties rallied against what they deemed was a “soft-on-crime” Labour Government.
Asked whether the Government had invited the scrutiny on the teens given it was a major policy, Chhour argued the pilot was voluntary and believed the teens were aware they “may have a bit of a spotlight on them”.
“But to the extreme that it’s got now, I don’t think anybody anticipated that it was going to be that intensive scrutiny,” she said.
Chhour claimed much of that scrutiny had been fueled by Opposition MPs, namely from Labour and the Green Party, who she alleged were “champing at the bit for these young people to fail”.
“They seem to be excited at the thought of these young people failing, which concerns me a little bit because at the end of the day, we should all be here wanting the best outcomes for our young people.”
Labour MP Willow-Jean Prime and Green MP Tamatha Paul had been among the more vocal opponents to the bootcamp pilot.
Prime rejected Chhour’s comments, saying there was “nothing remotely exciting” about the incidents and called on Chhour to take accountability.
“We need answers. She shouldn’t be pointing the finger unless it’s in front of a mirror.”
Paul said Chhour’s assessment “could not be further from the truth” and claimed Chhour was deflecting from the issues caused by the pilot programme.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
