'Agencies must do better' - Chief Children's Commissioner

Chief Children's Commissioner Claire Achmad has put agencies on notice, saying they aren't providing the safety nets required for children across the country.

It comes a week on from police launching a homicide investigation into the death of baby Ruthless-Empire, or Baby Ru, who was killed just days before he turned two years old.

"I'm deeply concerned by yet another tragic death of another child," Achmad said.

A post-mortem showed Baby Ru died as a result of blunt force trauma.

His uncle Ngatanahira Reremoana said he flagged the family's concerns with Oranga Tamariki, with wider whānau calling for him to be uplifted.

Police had also been called to do a welfare check on Baby Ru earlier this year and said they found no concern, the NZ Herald reports.

Achmad said "we need to see change when it comes to our situation on child abuse".

"These agencies must do better at working together, and to ensuring that no child slips through the safety net that they should rely on."

In a statement, Oranga Tamariki confirmed Baby Ru was not in their custody or care and it is "actively working alongside our partner agencies to piece together what, if any, support Baby Ru and his whānau were receiving at the time of his death, and if interventions could have occurred".

A recent report leaked to Stuff showed 57 children have died in New Zealand since Oranga Tamariki was formed in 2017.

Achmad said wraparound support for whānau and communities is essential.

"Any death of a child, let alone by homicide, has a ripple effect across its whānau, across communities. And we need to ensure that every single family and whānau in this country can build on the strengths that are innate within them, but also that they have the resources and support to ensure they can create safe environments."

On Wednesday Achmad started her new role as the Chief Children's Commissioner with Mana Mokopuna. Her main priority is listening to and advocating for children and young people all across the country.

"The majority of our children are thriving, but there is a proportion that are not," she said.

"For children in toughest situations, we see that the problems around persistent poverty, cost of living, hauora issues around mental health, and physical health and well-being, and also discrimination and inclusion, are some of the biggest challenges when it comes to child abuse, child maltreatment and family violence."

Ultimately, Achmad said we need children and young people put at the heart of decision making.

"Right now we are seeing children are often an afterthought when it comes to our decision-making by government. We need to see all governments — no matter what shape they are — putting children central in their decision making."

1News requested interviews with the police, Oranga Tamariki, and Baby Ru's whānau. Both Oranga Tamariki and Baby Ru's whānau declined to comment.

The police issued a statement saying it is continuing to engage with Baby Ru's whānau and that its investigation is ongoing.

"Like Baby Ru's wider whānau and the community, Police are determined to establish exactly what happened, and to form a picture of events that led to his death," Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said.

"We also understand the immense feeling and emotion in the community about what has taken place, and can reassure the public we are taking this incredibly seriously."

"We can say that the people of particular interest to Police do continue to engage with us," Pritchard said.

"A homicide investigation is by its very nature methodical and detailed, and establishing the facts can take some time.

"We can reassure both media and the community that when we have updates to provide, these will be publicly notified.

"Police encourage anyone with information to come forward."