Withdraw the bill and wait for the final report of the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care before proceeding further.
Why is this important?
This bill would disestablish the Children's Commissioner and will result in a weakening of independent monitoring of Oranga Tamariki and effective advocacy for children and young people.
Tracie Shipton, CEO of VOYCE, shared concerns that “The Government has not listened to a single recommendation from young people with lived experience on this Bill. These young people have been effectively silenced, and the new systems outlined by the Bill is designed to further muffle and weaken their voices".
We join with VOYCE and care experienced young people in calling for this bill to be stopped.
