Whakarongo Mai: Listening to the views of tamariki, whānau and kaimahi within the Aotearoa New Zealand child protection system

The Aotearoa New Zealand child protection system consistently fails Māori (Aotearoa New Zealand's Indigenous peoples), with recent reports calling for fundamental changes. Those longer-term shifts are necessary, but short-term changes are also needed. One such change is a shift in the way child protection decisions are made, and the ways in which tamariki (children) and whānau (families) are involved in those processes. This research sought to explore the views of a small group of Māori people with experience of the child protection system on one overarching question, “how should decisions about the safety and wellbeing of tamariki Māori be made, and what role should whānau and tamariki themselves play in that process?” Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted, seven of which were in person and one of which took place online. All participants were Māori, and all of them had involvement with the child protection system in either a personal or a professional capacity. Two of the participants were young people themselves. Three overarching themes were identified: that the voices of tamariki, whānau and kaimahi (professionals) all have a place, but the current system doesn't strike the right balance, that the value of tikanga (Māori cultural values and practices) cannot be understated, but care is needed for whānau who may not know that tikanga, and that the challenges experienced by whānau in this context are often intergenerational. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for law and policy.