‘No winners’: Focus on Moana’s future
The couple who have spent four years looking after a young girl at the centre of a legal battle around culture say there are no winners in the case that has ended with them remaining her carers.
They say the focus can now lie where it should – on a 7-year-old for whom everyone wants the best.
When Moana was placed in the care of a Hawke’s Bay couple (the ‘‘Smiths’’) in September 2018 her teeth were rotten, she had an untreated club foot and showed all the symptoms of a traumatised child.
The then 3-year-old, one of four siblings, had already been removed from her mother three times.
Oranga Tamariki placed Moana with the Smiths, who are Pākehā, because they could not find suitable or available whānau to take her.
But then after three stable years with the couple, Oranga Tamariki and the girl’s mother wanted her removed because they did not think the couple could meet her cultural needs.
They wanted to place her with a Māori woman and her daughter (the ‘‘Taipas’’), who live in Wellington and have Moana’s younger brother in their care.
The Smiths and the lawyer acting for Moana opposed Oranga Tamariki’s application to move her, and the matter was the subject of a hearing in the Family Court in Napier last year.
It resulted in Family Court Judge Peter Callinicos ruling Moana would remain in the care of her Pākehā foster parents and slamming Oranga Tamariki for putting ideology ahead of a child’s best interests.
Judge Callinicos found Moana had formed attachments with the Smiths and the impacts of another placement at this stage risked further psychological trauma.
He outlined a plan in which all parties could have input to Moana’s upbringing and how her cultural, health and educational needs could be met.
Her mother appealed the decision. The appeal, heard in the High Court in May, was supported by Oranga Tamariki and the Taipas.
In a decision released this week, Justice Helen Cull dismissed the appeal on all grounds.
She emphasised the over-arching and paramount consideration was a child’s wellbeing and best interests.
Justice Cull’s decision has been welcomed by the Smiths. They hope it ‘‘brings to a close what has been a very long and very hard three years that has, no doubt, adversely affected all involved’’.
‘‘While the strain on us as a couple with limited resources has been immense, throughout this process the only person that has mattered to us is Moana – she has been at the centre of all our decisions.
‘‘She is still the only person who matters,’’ Mrs Smith said.
‘‘Going forward we will continue to advocate for what is best for her in all aspects of her life, including her health,
her education and her culture, as we have done ever since she came into our care.’’
There were ‘‘no winners’’ in a court case such as this, she said. ‘‘The costs that add up quickly are more than just financial – they can be counted in the years and months of your life that you will never get back, especially when you end up not too far from where you started from in the first place.’’
Mrs Smith urged Oranga Tamariki to step back and let them, the Taipas and Moana’s mother work together.
‘‘Let us all raise this child out from under your microscope that we have been living under for so long, to ensure Moana’s life is as normal as possible,’’ she said.
‘‘Moana is loved beyond measure by so many people in her life: us, her mother, her wider whānau and friends – all of whom just want what is best for her.
‘‘For this reason I hope we can all have a hand in raising this special little girl, to help her grow into the amazing person we all know she will become.’’
‘‘The costs that add up quickly are more than just financial.’’ Moana’s foster mother