Call to monitor children rebuffed

The coroner who investigated the death of Moko Rangitoheriri says all children should be registered at birth and monitored until the age of 5 to help prevent another tragedy — but the Minister for Children has poured cold water on the idea.

Three-year-old Moko was subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of his carers, Tania Shailer and David Haerewa, who were jailed for 17 years after admitting the 2015 manslaughter.

The compulsory monitoring of children, by midwives or Plunket, was the No 1 recommendation of Rotorua coroner Wallace Bain in his findings into Moko’s death.

He pinpointed specific failings by government departments, individuals and social welfare agencies which missed numerous ‘‘red flags’’ in the care of Moko and his siblings.

Mr Bain said it was a major concern that Moko was not visited by any organisation despite those flags.

If Moko had been seen — and given medical treatment — even several hours before his death, Mr Bain said the pathologist report was clear the toddler could have been saved.

If there were compulsory checks on children until they reached 5, when they attended school, Mr Bain said there would have been a better chance of his survival.
Children’s Minister Tracey Martin said: ‘‘I don’t think [compulsory monitoring is] something that most New Zealanders would be comfortable with.

‘‘My initial conversations with colleagues reflect a similar view.

‘‘While every child’s death is a tragedy and there are far too many, thankfully they are still rare. Most families are loving families.’’

Compulsory checks on children was the same recommendation Mr Bain made following the inquest on Nia Glassie, who also died at the hands of her carers in 2007.

‘‘Had that recommendation been in place, and, for example, midwives and Plunket were empowered to check on children and enter homes (subject to safety considerations) and properly funded to do so, Nia Glassie and Moko would probably still be alive today,’’ Mr Bain wrote.

Ms Martin said what happened to Moko was ‘‘shameful’’ and a ‘‘hideous crime’’.

She acknowledged Mr Bain’s work on the inquest and said it was positive that he had found improvements had been made since Nia’s death.

She also highlighted changes being made to the Ministry for Children, Oranga Tamariki, which would improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

The ministry is undergoing a five-year overhaul, with a raft of changes including making health, education and children’s services work more closely and making registration of social workers mandatory.

Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft shied away from compulsory monitoring, but said the concept was worthy of national debate.

He pointed out about 91% of New Zealand children already voluntarily get comprehensive Well Child checks, where Plunket nurses or Maori providers monitor children up to age 5.

Of the 9% to 10% of children who were missed, there was a group that was hard to reach and ‘‘would clearly benefit from good quality visits and assistance’’, he said.

But rather than ‘‘reinventing the wheel’’ to create a new mandatory monitoring system, Judge Becroft recommended efforts be made to extend Well Child coverage to all families and make checks more frequent and in-depth.

He also called for the stalled children’s teams initiative,which focuses on vulnerable children, to be extended from its pilot phase.

The costs of extending such programmes would be ‘‘chicken feed’’ compared to the long-term benefits and savings to New Zealand’s health, education and justice systems, he said.

In his findings, the coroner echoed the words of Judge Becroft, who gave evidence at the inquest.

‘‘We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Aotearoa New Zealand to build a world-leading care and protection . . . We will never get this chance again.

‘‘As a country, we must. This shameful abuse against our children has to stop.’’