OT off ice ‘hell’ factor

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.

Staff were quoted as saying they were ‘‘increasingly worried about the health and safety and quality of social work we are providing’’. Reports raised by staff related to the effect of high workload, a high number of unallocated cases, lack of capacity on site, burnout and stress, and concern about the flow-on effect on social work practice.

The office first received concerns about Malachi being in Barriball’s care in June 2021. By November 2021, the 4-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 Ā huru Mō wai social work staff were at capacity and experiencing ‘‘long-standing workload pressures’’. ‘‘Staff at Te Ā huru Mō wai site were clear at the time of their involvement with Malachi and his whā nau, that workload and resourcing issues were having a direct impact on their practice.’’

An example of this, the report said, was the allocation of Malachi’s initial assessment to a new social worker, who did not usually undertake assessments, and would normally be under supervision by more experienced staff. The social worker did not contact any outside agencies about Malachi and his whā nau, including the police, nor did she contact Malachi’s daycare or visit the place where he was living with Barriball.

‘‘Members of Malachi’s whānau made repeated, sincere and considered efforts to raise their concerns about the care, safety and wellbeing of Malachi. The Oranga Tamariki response to these concerns was inadequate,’’ said the report.

Staff painted a shocking picture of the Te Ā huru Mō wai office under pressure from a high workload and office culture challenges.

One staff member said: ‘‘The volume of work is unbearable . . . after hours is hell . . . We are in a horrible cycle of dealing with crisis.’’

There’s no need to travel all the way to England to find out about one of the most famous landmarks on the planet: The Secrets of Stonehenge is finally coming to Tāmaki Makaurau.

The international exhibition goes on display in Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum from December 15.

The exhibition features hundreds of artefacts more than 4000 years old, sharing the breakthrough scientific evidence and revealing the secrets behind one of the most mysterious prehistoric monuments.

Stonehenge stands proudly in Salisbury. The largest stones are about seven metres high, nearly three metres wide and weigh more than 22 tonnes.

The ancient landmark has long sparked curiosity regarding its origins, construction and meaning, and after almost 20 years of excavations, archaeologists finally have some answers that shed light on the people who built it.

The exhibition has been curated by Professor Mike Parker Pearson, who has been directing research on Stonehenge since 2003.

‘‘After centuries of speculation, we are finally reaching an understanding of Stonehenge: who built it, when, how and why,’’ Parker Pearson said.

‘‘We now know that Stonehenge did not appear out of the blue.’’

The site at Salisbury had been considered sacred for ‘‘hundreds, if not thousands of years before the first Stonehenge was built’’.

‘‘That first Stonehenge, built around 3000BC, looked very different from its second incarnation, built 500 years later, when it took the form in which it broadly appears today,’’ Parker Pearson said.

‘‘Its story is one of change and evolution – a story we are piecing together for the first time.’’

The exhibition digs deep into the evolving stories of the landmark, from how the stones arrived there, to who the builders were and what their intentions might have been as they formed the stone circle.

It also speculates on the monument’s special place in the ancient landscape.

Through artefacts, including stone tools, antler picks, pottery, gold and bronze objects, science and hands-on experiences with interactive tables, touch screens, videos, and digital animations, visitors can explore when, why, how and by whom Stonehenge was built.

Secrets of Stonehenge opens on December 15 for a limited time. Tickets are available on the Auckland Museum website, or at the museum.