Peters: Who talks about child deaths?

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters says that since Oranga Tamariki tried to uplift a baby at Hastings Hospital in May, three Ma¯ori babies have died from what police have called nonaccidental injuries.

Peters was responding to questions about a planned rally at Parliament today by a group trying to stop Oranga Tamariki putting Maori babies into state care. “If you ask me personally what my view is let me say that three Ma¯ori children have been killed since this issue broke. I don’t see many headlines about that and that’s a tragedy.

“If any of you understand Ma¯oridom, you’ll know there is some deep disquiet with respect to the treatment of women and children in particular,” he said. “So let’s not wipe our hands of this — and own up to the fact that if there’s going to be a change, there has to be a cultural renaissance in Ma¯oridom itself as to its internal responsibilities to help fix this issue.

“All sorts of people are being put in the gun . . . [by] this criticism as though it is some sort of insensitive system where no one cares. That could not be further from the truth.”

Peters did not list the children who had been killed. They are:

● Sixteen-month-old Malcolm Robert Bell who died of head injuries in Starship hospital in June. A man has been charged with murder.

● A 10-month-old Hokitika boy who died of injuries in Christchurch Hospital. A man has been charged with murder.

● A Northland infant who died of injuries.