We raised this issue to be heard and reported on by the Waitangi Tribunal. ​Our case was led and supported by a group of District Māori Councils, Nga Maia Maori Midwives, and other prominent members of the Māori community, including Ngahiwi Tomoana, the late Des Ratima, Maanu Paul, Raymond Hall, Titewhai Harawira, Rihari Dargaville, Diane Black, Jean Te Huia, Ripeka Ormsby, Tunuiarangi MacLean, Cr Henare O’keefe, Cr Jacoby Poulain and others.

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All our stories were put before the Waitangi Tribunal during 2020 and culminated in the production of a final report of the Tribunal and played an important part of the complex jigsaw puzzle that had to be put together to properly present and analyse hard evidence surrounding the tragic plight of vulnerable Maori mothers and their newborn babies under the toxic and suppressive OT regime that was in place within NZ at that time.   

 

Phoenix Law was the only firm that went out and gathered actual hard evidence from Mothers as the core of its case – as it firmly believed that only by telling the harrowing stories from such a multitude of vulnerable mothers that the Government recognised the magnitude of the issue as one not being isolated to a few fringe examples, and that change was made.

 

Our work in this area led to no less than 5 inquiries into the treatment of children and whanau by Oranga Tamariki (“OT”), and led to the eventual resignation of the OT CEO.

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Not one more child will be uplifted and we will intervene at all costs.
Ngahiwi Tomoana: (9 May 2019)

We acknowledge the leadership of Ngahiwi Tomoana,  paramount Chief of Ngati Kahungunu, who was the first Iwi leader to speak out about the actions of the Ministry of Children in their attempts to uplift Pepi M at the Hastings Hospital; and the only Iwi leader to give evidence at the Tribunal on behalf of the Claimants.

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We acknowledge the bravery of those involved in the Hastings Uplift, including; the Hastings Mother and Grandmother, and their whanau; Mr. Des Ratima; the midwife, Mrs. Ripeka Ormsby; Journalist, Ms. Melanie Reid; Councillor Henare O’Keefe; and Ngahiwi Tomoana, Chair of Ngati Kahungunu Iwi; along with the support of Professor Mark Henaghan. We also acknowledge the principled and scrupulous work of the Children’s Commissioner, the Ombudsman, and the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency Committee of Dames and Knights. Finally, we acknowledge the bravery of all those mothers and grandmothers who have lost their
Tamariki and Mokopuna, and who took the time and effort, and went through the pain of telling their stories, and giving evidence so that future generations of Tamariki Māori may be spared the brutality they have had to endure.

 

Kia Kaha, Kia Māia, Kia Manawanui.

 

Our pēpi, our mothers, and our whānau deserve better.