Open Letter to New Zealand
September 17, 2025
The understandable public interest in the Phillips case has to be measured against one key fact: at the centre of this media storm are children who do not deserve to have their four-year ordeal turned into a spectacle for public consumption.If the documentary progresses – ...
The time is now for systemic child protection change
August 1, 2024
New Zealand has never been as informed about the abuse of its children and young people as right now – which means there has never been a better time than right now to make the systemic changes required to keep our kids safe, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.“In the p...
Latest OT Report reinforces child safety concerns
January 30, 2024
Yesterday’s Safety in Care report released by Oranga Tamariki doesn’t offer any surprises, and has simply served to reinforce existing and escalating concerns about what the government agency is doing to protect children in New Zealand, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searl...
The frontline of child protection is failing; missing statistics are just one symptom
November 7, 2023
OPINION: In May 2016, the then-government approved the creation of a new, stand-alone agency to provide a single point of accountability for services for vulnerable children and young people – Oranga Tamariki.Seven years later, despite numerous reviews and previous electio...
The new Government hasn’t even been formed yet, but New Zealand has already seen another needless and tragic death of a child – Ruthless-Empire Souljah Reign Rhind Shepard Wall.In 2022, at least nine children died at the hands of those who were supposed to care for them....
Child abuse murder charge prompts call for politicians to act
January 12, 2023
A young woman charged with the murder of an infant boy yesterday has prompted national child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, to ask how many children must die before New Zealand’s politicians act.On average, one child died every five weeks in New Zealand in 2022, with...
National child advocacy group, Child Matters, says while they welcome today’s report into 5-year-old Malachi Subecz’s tragic death, they are disappointed the government is yet to accept all the report’s recommendations.Malachi, from Te Puna, tragically died in November...
Urgent action needed to fix Oranga Tamariki
November 10, 2022
This month marks a year since the tragic and preventable death of five-year-old Malachi Subecz from Te Puna. In the six months after his death, six more children died of suspected neglect and abuse, and a total of eight children have died so far this year. Behind that statis...
Lack of mandatory child protection training contributed to 'avoidable' death of Malachi Subecz
October 5, 2022
National child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, says the licence revocation for the daycare attended by Malachi Subecz reinforces the significance of legislating mandatory child protection training in New Zealand.Five-year-old Malachi Subecz, from Te Puna, tragically die...
Third alleged child abuse case sets alarming start to 2022
January 27, 2022
New Zealand’s national child abuse advocacy group, Child Matters, says the rate at which children have died of alleged child abuse during January has set a tragic start to the year.A four-month-old baby is the latest child to succumb to their non-accidental injuries this m...
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