Best interests of tamariki Māori in need of care and protection

The report argues that the New Zealand Family Court often makes decisions that see tamariki Māori in need of care and protection placed outside of their whakapapa (i.e. outside of their kin group) and disconnected from their culture. This situation is occurring for a range of reasons, including that:

• the law, despite being amended multiple times to better recognise the rights of tamariki Māori to live within their whakapapa group and be connected to their culture, still fails to clearly prescribe how the Family Court should give effect to these rights;
• in practice, whānau, hapū and iwi are not actively engaged by Oranga Tamariki or the Courts to ensure that all tamariki Māori in need of care and protection are always placed within their whakapapa group; and
• Māori rangatiratanga to determine what is in the best interests of tamariki Māori, as guaranteed under te Tiriti o Waitangi and affirmed by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (Indigenous Declaration), is not recognised or given effect in care and protection law, policy and processes within Aotearoa New Zealand.

The report offers specific suggestions to ensure the rights of tamariki Māori to live with their whānau and within their culture – as guaranteed under te Tiriti o Waitangi and protected by the Indigenous Declaration and the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, and Māori rangatiratanga over kāinga – is given effect.

The full report can be accessed here: