Now in her sixth month as Children's Commissioner, Judge Frances Eivers has firmed up her priorities in the role - but first she wants the Government to hit pause on reform of the watchdogs tasked with keeping children safe
“It’s such a massive challenge, a huge wero for me.”
Having started as Children’s Commissioner last November, Judge Frances Eivers is under no illusions about both the privileges and responsibilities of her new role as chief advocate for New Zealand children.
Eivers is of Ngāti Maniapoto and Waikato descent and was appointed as a District Court judge in 2009 following a decades-long career in law, including appointments as a youth advocate and independent ‘counsel for the child’.
The young New Zealanders she represented, or who appeared before her in the Manukau District Court, tended to have several things in common, she says.
Many had been in the care and protection system, were from whānau battling poverty and other issues, and had been kicked out of school.
“Whether it was a combination of hitting puberty, the struggles of transition into that next phase of school and all of the issues that come with being a teenager … most of them had been out of school since about 12 and had lost confidence in their own ability.”
It’s no surprise that Eivers has made education one of her top three priorities - specifically, keeping children in school and ensuring the system is both inclusive and equitable.
“For about 10 percent to maybe 30 percent or more, it's not working, so we need to find ways to do things differently…
“We need to find ways to make it more inclusive, more diverse, and acknowledge where we are and who we are, and the wonder of being from this land of Aotearoa and the fact that it was founded on a Treaty partnership with the Crown and Māori.”
Another focus is the mental wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi, where Eivers echoes others’ concerns about the striking gap between the money being poured into the system and the limited returns.
“That's part of my role, I believe, as a commissioner, [to] advocate: what's happened to this funding, where has it gone? Why are our young people still suffering?”
“Everyone says to me, ‘It's [tackling family violence] too hard, It's too big, it's been done’ and sure, but it's not improving, and children are hurting. I want to find those gaps, find ways that I can get out there and say, what can we do better?” – Judge Frances Eivers
Having worked in the mental health space both as a lawyer and a judge, she recalls teenagers “pretty much left to their own devices” as overwhelmed families struggled to find the support they needed from agencies.
Then there is the enduring issue of family violence, a problem which hasn’t improved despite the efforts of successive governments and which will take time to change.
“It is a really difficult issue, but I believe that it starts with people being in a cycle of poverty, losing all hope … and if you've been raised in a family where there's domestic violence, people don't mean to do it, I know they don't - they just lose control…
“Everyone says to me, ‘It's too hard, It's too big, it's been done’ and sure, but it's not improving, and children are hurting. I want to find those gaps, find ways that I can get out there and say, what can we do better?”
One crucial part of the system, Oranga Tamariki, faces a period of significant reform in the wake of several damning reports (including from Eivers’ predecessor Judge Andrew Becroft).
From her initial discussions with the ministry, Eivers believes there is a genuine desire to change but a big job ahead.
She would like Oranga Tamariki to devolve more of its powers and roles to communities “rather than being a big, huge machine in Wellington”, while establishing partnerships with iwi to give Māori a true seat at the table.
“I remember in court … Oranga Tamariki couldn't find a home for a placement for a young person, or rangatahi. And I'd go ‘Well, where are they from?’ And they'd go, ‘Oh they're Ngāpuhi’ - well that's the biggest tribe. Surely there's someone in their whānau who will be able to look after and care for this mokopuna.”
Govt must 'think again' about oversight reforms
It is not just Oranga Tamariki itself, but its independent oversight mechanisms being overhauled by the Government.
The planned changes, which include replacing the Children’s Commissioner with a board of representatives and placing an independent monitor within the Education Review Office rather than as a standalone entity, have attracted criticism from many - Eivers included.
“A commission is a board, and a board is not a mechanism that can advocate for children,” she says of plans to move away from a commissioner-sole approach.
“Everyone looks up to the captain of the team … now, I can liken myself to Richie McCaw, maybe, but you've got to be the person that's recognised, that's known and that everyone says, ‘That person will make make changes, that person will say what I can't say, that person knows who to go to’.”
She is similarly unimpressed with the planned home of the independent monitor, saying that putting it in an agency “which is essentially government” will do little to restore public confidence in Oranga Tamariki.
Those are the headline issues attracting most concern, but Eivers says there are other problems with the plans: the commissioner’s power to report directly to the Prime Minister on issues of concern appears set to be removed, along with broader investigative powers the office currently has.
Cabinet’s intentions may be positive, but with so many people critical of the proposed changes, Eivers says it is “incumbent on the Government to think again”.
“It's a golden opportunity to really get things right, to really make a significant step, to say this was a turning point, this is where we got it right.
“We need to listen to what's coming out of the Royal Commission [into abuse in state care], and that's another good reason for the Government to say perhaps just pause.
“We don't want to repeat those mistakes. I don't want to hear another story about a young person who's beaten every night with a piece of wood.
“I don't want to hear those stories anymore, and I'm sure every single New Zealander out there doesn't, because that is so much pain for a child - the physical pain is the least of it.”
