Oranga Tamariki delays crucial child custody report

Wairapapa's chief social worker has been ordered to appear before a judge in Masterton on Monday afternoon to explain an almost three-month delay in providing a crucial report on a young girl. State child welfare agency Oranga Tamariki says the delay is unacceptable but insists the girl's safety is not in question. Her lawyer says it is. An aunt is currently looking after the girl. A Section 132 report in a custody dispute helps a judge decide who a child should live with long-term, and this one should have been done by the end of November last year. The girl's lawyer Jess Hunt told RNZ's Phil Pennington she's appalled at the delay, but says she's also alarmed that a report has now been hastily put together in just two days.