The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill is currently before Select Committee.

ANZASW has joined with over 20 other child and youth advocacy organisations from across Aotearoa New Zealand, united in our opposition to the Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill. 

Together, we are calling for an end to punitive youth justice policy. Our tamariki and rangatahi are taonga, to characterise them as “Serious Youth Offenders” and subject them to periods of disconnection from their communities in military-style youth academies is not only contrary to evidence around effective strategies for children and youth who offend, but places them at high risk of re-traumatisation.

“We empathise with victims of crime in our communities, and we want to build communities where every person, whether they are a child, business owner or whānau, is able to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging. But the evidence tells us that children need safe and loving communities, positive role models and connections, and trauma-informed therapeutic support, in order to thrive. They need to be connected to their community and to their culture, to live in an environment which is safe, and where they feel loved and supported. 

The gift we ask for this Christmas is that you, the Coalition Government, kill the Bill - engage with the community, with hapū, with iwi, to seek further advice and expertise from the sector and wider community so that together we can tackle both the real causes and consequences of child offending.”