http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.childmatters.org.nz en-us Sun, 12 Apr 2026 01:27:16 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/160186/child-abuse-change-requires-bi-partisan-commitment/ In 2025, a New Zealand child died on average every six and a half weeks due to abuse and/or neglect. Many more sustained life-altering injuries, and thousands continue to live with trauma as their regular reality.These are tragic statistics that have barely changed in 10 years, says Child Matters CEO, Jane Searle.“There are no quick fixes to child abuse, but there are credible solutions that lie in long-term thinking that reduces harm over successive years.“As we move into the 2026 election ... Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post160186 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159845/open-letter-to-new-zealand/ 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 – both in terms of its production and eventual airing – it will do just that, putting public curiosity and interest above the recovery and wellbeing of the children affected.Regardless of claims that the documentary will not ... Wed, 17 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159845 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159844/the-time-is-now-for-systemic-child-protection-change/ 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 past seven days we have seen the Royal Commission into Abuse in State Care, and the sobering Independent Children’s Monitor report into the death of five-year old Malachi Subecz.“These follow numerous previous reports and ... Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +1200 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159844 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159843/latest-ot-report-reinforces-child-safety-concerns/ 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 Searle.Ms Searle says the findings of the report are no surprise to anyone working in the child abuse sector, and the statistics quoted are unlikely to show the full extent of the issue.The Safety in Care report indicates 9 per ce... Tue, 30 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159843 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159848/the-frontline-of-child-protection-is-failing-missing-statistics-are-just-one-symptom/ 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 election promises, we are still waiting for that accountability. As a result, we are still waiting for better outcomes for our vulnerable children.For years, Child Matters has had to collate its own statistics about the number of ch... Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159848 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159842/hutt-homicide-new-government-needs-to-show-leadership-around-child-protection/ 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.“These tragic circumstances are a reminder to the future Government Ministers that New Zealand has some serious issues to address when it comes to child abuse and protecting our most vulnerable children,” says Child Matte... Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159842 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159841/child-abuse-murder-charge-prompts-call-for-politicians-to-act/ 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 many more harmed at the hands of their parent or caregiver.As we come into an election year, child protection needs to be a priority for politicians, Child Matters says.Chief Executive, Jane Searle, says while communities ne... Thu, 12 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159841 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159839/malachi-subecz-review-spurs-renewed-calls-for-mandatory-child-abuse-reporting/ 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 last year following sustained and horrific abuse at the hands of his carer.The report examined how to improve identification of, and response to, abuse of children and young people and looked at how the six government depart... Thu, 01 Dec 2022 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159839 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159847/urgent-action-needed-to-fix-oranga-tamariki/ 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 statistic are also the thousands of children who have been abused, many unknown to the police or Oranga Tamariki.As the year continues, we will hear more of the same rhetoric from politicians over the last 20 years as successive po... Thu, 10 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159847 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/post/159838/lack-of-mandatory-child-protection-training-contributed-to-avoidable-death-of-malachi-subecz/ 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 died following sustained and horrific abuse at the hands of his carer in November last year.The Ministry of Education has now formally revoked the licence of Abbey’s Place Childcare Centre after the centre failed to meet condi... Wed, 05 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.childmatters.org.nz/blog/#post159838