Oranga Tamariki office ‘hell’

Staff at Oranga Tamariki’s Tauranga office had told management at least nine times before Malachi Subecz’s death they were ‘‘increasingly worried about the health and safety and quality of social work’’ being provided.

Oranga Tamariki provided a report to Dame Karen Poutasi as part of her investigation into how government departments could have prevented the boy’s murder by his caregiver, Michaela Barriball. This report included an admission by Oranga Tamariki that staff at its Tauranga office had raised concerns at least nine times.

The office first received concerns about Malachi being in Barriball’s care in June 2021. By November 2021, the 5-year-old boy was dead.

The report into Oranga Tamariki’s failures cited issues at the Tauranga office as a key factor. The report also acknowledged that at the time concerns were raised for Malachi’s safety, Te Āhuru Mōwai social work staff were at capacity and experiencing ‘‘long-standing workload pressures’’. ‘‘Staff at Te Ā huru Mōwai site were clear at the time of their involvement with Malachi and his whānau, that workload and resourcing issues were having a direct impact on their practice.’’

Staff painted a shocking picture of the Te Āhuru Mōwai office under pressure from a high workload. One staff member said: ‘‘The volume of work is unbearable . . . after hours is hell . . . We are in a horrible cycle of dealing with crisis.’’