Children tell Bennett they fear going home

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A woman whose job it is to protect New Zealand's most vulnerable children got a "sobering" look into their lives in Hamilton yesterday, with some saying they just don't want to go home.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett was in the city as part of her nationwide tour to talk to community groups about the Green Paper on Vulnerable Children, launched in July last year.

The paper is a discussion document on how New Zealand can better protect abused, neglected and disadvantaged children.

It explores issues including government intervention in families, including increased sharing private information among different state agencies and tracking children from birth.

Yesterday Ms Bennett visited Hamilton's Child Matters to hear directly from those the paper is hoping to protect.

There she heard many children didn't want to go home because things were so bad.

They asked for more after-school programmes and activities to be set up so they didn't have to go home and watch their parents' get hammered.

One teen told Ms Bennett there were many children living in "bad environments" around Hamilton.

"When you're young you want to have fun; you don't want to watch your parents drink alcohol," the teen said.

Others said it seemed parents had forgotten how to spend quality time with their children, instead leaving them to fend from themselves.

Many were going to school without breakfast and lunch.

Saphire, 7, told Ms Bennett she knew what it was liked to be tormented by adults.

"I get teased by [my aunties] – they torment me," she said.

"I just go into my room and shut the door. I jammed it so they couldn't get in."

Mr Bennett told the Times hearing directly from the children was "pretty sobering to be honest".

"There was some pretty hard stuff about the parents drinking and not wanting to stay at home after school.

"It was really interesting to get a children's perspective on things instead of adults always talking about children."

Ms Bennett said feedback suggested people wanted increased information sharing – but mainly for at-risk children.

However, most said if children were to be tracked from birth, every child should be so as not to discriminate.

She said the next step would be to discuss how much the Government should intervene in people's lives.

"That's where it'll get interesting and it will take a lot of looking at to get it right."

The Green Paper can be found at: http://www.childrensactionplan.govt.nz. Submissions on the Green Paper close on February 28.

nicola.brennan@waikatotimes.co.nz

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