The new government is set to scrap a law that ensures Māori babies who are removed from unsafe homes remain in the care of their wider whānau.
An advocate has called the move cruel but Children's Minister Karen Chhour insists the changes have done more harm than good.
The law, section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act, was introduced to address the over-representation of Māori children in state care.
As of last year, more than two-thirds of the children in state care are Māori.
The act compels Oranga Tamariki to give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi, reduce disparities experienced by Māori children, create partnerships with iwi, and prioritise a child's whakapapa when deciding who they should be cared for.
The legislation was created after recommendations from multiple inquiries into the agency.
Chhour wasn't available for an interview on Wednesday but told 1News that focusing on race, and requiring the agency to honour the Treaty, is at odds with its primary focus.
"Section 7AA… is at odds with what should be its sole focus: protecting at-risk children."
But social work lecturer Shayne Walker said: "7AA has meant that the organisation itself is being rehabilitated so that it is a fit-for-purpose organisation."
State care survivor Paora Moyle told 1News: "It is cruel to take children away from whom they belong to, their standing place, whom they know themselves to be."
The chief executive of charity Te Whānau o Waipareira, John Tamihere, said: "We're not opposed to uplifts. We're opposed to the way in which they occur."
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