Malachi Subecz died in 2021 after suffering months of abuse. Photo: Supplied
At-risk children are no safer now than they were after a series of recommendations after the horrific death of a 5-year-old Malachi Subecz, according to the Independent Children's Monitor.
The assessment comes in a follow-up report by the Aroturuki Tamariki / Independent Children's Monitor into whether the system has improved since the Bay of Plenty boy's murder.
He suffered months of abuse at the hands of his carer, Michaela Barriball, including being beaten and burned, before he was murdered in November 2021. Barriball will spend at least 17 years in prison over his death.
In the wake of his death, a review by Dame Karen Poutasi was commissioned and six government agencies reviewed their work.
But the latest report, called 'Working towards a stronger safety net to prevent abuse of children', stated: "We are not confident that tamariki in similar situations to Malachi are any more likely to be seen, or kept safe by the system, than they were when Malachi died."
Aroturuki Tamariki chief executive Arran Jones said it was "disappointing to see the lack of priority given to this by government agencies over the last two years".
"The gaps identified by the Poutasi review were not new and have been raised by previous reviews over decades."
Agencies had taken some steps in their own reviews since the latest report was finalised, Jones said.
The report said the system change which Dame Karen had called for had not happened.
Agencies had made limited progress and what had been done did not address fundamental underlying problems, the report stated.
"A succession of reviews into the death or serious abuse of children have pointed at the need for greater collaboration and information sharing between government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs). Not sharing information when the safety of a child is at risk leads to tamariki falling through the gaps, as happened with Malachi.
"While government agencies are continuing to discuss how they can better collaborate, there is still no consistent, nationwide approach. Working together to ensure tamariki are safe must be treated as core business and supported accordingly."
'This pattern ... has to stop'
Barriball became Malachi's full-time caregiver after his mother was imprisoned earlier in the year.
Afterwards, it was revealed his cousin had repeatedly tried to get help.
The cousin reportedly contacted multiple groups six months before he was killed. In June 2021, she contacted police about concerns about worries whether the caregiver could care for him. She alerted his childcare centre and asked them to report any concerns about his wellbeing and visited an Oranga Tamariki office to make a report of concern.
Aroturuki Tamariki's Arran Jones said action was needed.
"This pattern, of a child death followed by a review and recommendations that are not implemented, has to stop. Action needs to be taken to keep children safe. We won't look away and will report whether anything has changed in another 12 months."
Oranga Tamariki must act when there were reports of concern, Jones said.
"The availability of staff has an undue influence on the decisions social workers must make on whether or not to take action on a report of concern. This results in an inconsistent response across sites and an inconsistent threshold for when further action is taken.
"Almost half of reports of concern made by NGOs, and 40 percent of those from early childhood education providers and schools, are recorded by Oranga Tamariki as requiring 'no further action'. When social workers from NGOs, or school staff, report concerns to Oranga Tamariki they don't do this lightly. NGO staff tell us that they have usually exhausted every other option to help whānau before they make a report of concern to Oranga Tamariki."
Bosses of agencies say they are committed to improvement
In response, the chief executives of six public service agencies charged with the wellbeing of children said there were no easy solutions to child abuse.
The heads of Oranga Tamariki, police, Health NZ, ministries of heath, social development, justice, Corrections and education said their departments had worked hard on what was an incredibly complex and challenging process. They said they were committed to changing the system for the better.
Dame Karen's report proposed several changes across the wider children's system to make sure there was an interconnected safety net which protected children.
In a statement, the chief executives said: "There are no easy solutions when it comes to child abuse in our country. The causes lie deep in deprivation, intergenerational trauma, and other unmet needs while there are rarely easy responses when the state is called to intervene in families and whānau to protect children and young people."
They said the Independent Children's Monitor had concluded change had not been quick enough.
"It will take time. The children's system is complex, something the Independent Children's Monitor has acknowledged in its report in the context of Dame Karen's recommendations.
"But child abuse is a problem we must all tackle together - families, communities and government agencies - to keep our children and young people safe."
