Save the Children asks Select Committee to retain Children’s Commissioner

Save the Children will today (Wednesday) present its oral submission to the Select Committee asking that the Government retain the role of New Zealand’s Children’s Commissioner and consult with children on new legislation that seeks to remove the role.

The proposed Oversight of Oranga Tamariki System and Children and Young People’s Commission Bill, currently before Select Committee, removes the role of Children’s Commissioner with the authority to report with or without invitation directly to the Prime Minister on behalf of children. Instead, a new Children and Young Person’s Commission is established, run by a Board of between three and six members.

Save the Children New Zealand Advocacy and Research Director Jacqui Southey will today present her oral submission at 1.15pm on behalf of the child rights organisation. The submission follows last week’s presentation of a petition to Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson signed by more than 10,700 concerned Kiwis.

“The Children’s Commissioner is a champion for our tamariki, a powerful public voice for change and the role as it stands is crucial in representing the rights and interests of all our young people,” says Ms Southey.

“We believe the changes proposed are not in the best interests of our tamariki and are not consistent with the aspiration that New Zealand is the best place in the world to be a child. We ask that the Bill does not progress past Select Committee until children and young people have been consulted on the role of Children’s Commissioner and the development of the new Children and Young People’s Commission.”

Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.

Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, and Mozambique. Areas of work include education and literacy, disaster risk reduction, and alleviating child poverty.