‘A dark day for Kiwi kids’

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Publication title: Whanganui Chronicle

Major job-cutting proposals have been announced in the public sector; at Oranga Tamariki, 632 roles are proposed to be disestablished, with 185 proposed to be created – a net loss of 447 jobs

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has confirmed a proposal is in the works that would result in a net reduction of 565 roles, 225 of which are already vacant.

Agencies are seeking cost-savings in relation to the Budget, coming up on May 30, and have been directed to find savings of between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent on average.

Both of the proposals, which came in on the same day, have sparked concern from various unions, and Labour leader Chris Hipkins.

Communications to Oranga Tamariki staff detail about 1900 of 5100 positions are “in the scope of this change”, including all positions in the national office below the chief executive, and, in regional offices, all roles below chief executive and above site manager, youth justice manager, and residence manager, or equivalent frontline roles.

The children’s ministry has vowed to keep essential roles out of the firing line, as has the Ministry of Education.

Oranga Tamariki’s frontline managers, and key staff reporting to them, are not part of the savings proposal, with the axe looming instead at back-office staff and roles.

On the looming cuts, Oranga Tamariki chief executive Chappie Te Kani said “this change goes to our core as a ministry”.

“It fundamentally moves us away from where we are, towards the kind of ministry we need to be. A ministry that puts children at the centre of all we do,” Te Kani said.

The Public Service Association, which represents unionised public servants who have been subject to “unsettling” proposals, was the first to slam the announcements.

In a statement, PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the union’s “hearts go out to all the dedicated workers” impacted by the change proposal.

“These ill-considered cuts will affect the ability of Oranga Tamariki to deliver services and partner with community agencies. Once again the fiction of no cuts to the front-line has been exposed,” Fitzsimons, a former Labour candidate, said in a statement.

Secretary of education Iona Holsted said the agency was disappointed in the PSA’s “mischaracterisation” of the proposals as impacting services for children.

“This generates unnecessary concern and worry for parents and caregivers and the wider education sector.

“To be clear, this is a complex process that has required time, and our proposed changes have...