He Mokopuna, He Taonga

Tariana Turia, Co-leader for the Maori Party, has today spoken of the heart-rendering grief of a nation, in reflecting on the latest chapter in the life and death of an innocent little girl.

“As those responsible for this hideous crime start their life behind bars, none of us can rest easily about the situation that occurred in Rotorua leading to the murder of a young girl” said Mrs Turia.

“The shame of the pain and suffering on her short life endures in our social conscience, as we reflect on what we could have done differently” said Mrs Turia.

“We must use this time to act, to ensure that whanau members receive the support they need, that we become involved as family, as neighbours, as a community to ensure no child suffers from abuse or violence ever again” said Mrs Turia.

“This is a moment for us to confront our shameful statistics as a nation; to confront the complex web of alcohol and drug abuse that clouds the mind; to do something about the patterns of dysfunction and neglect that were rife in this case, as they have been in others” said Mrs Turia.

“It is too late to come up with the answers when death is in the headlines” said Mrs Turia. “We need to act earlier, to support, to be ready for the crisis just around the corner”.

“One of the lawyers in this case described a “rudderless" home in which the poverty-stricken occupants "drifted along"” said Mrs Turia. “No healthy family would have treated a child in the way they did - and it was clear that the adults in this family were also victims of violence".

“When children see, hear and feel such violence towards them; when our culture of alcohol and drug addiction is thriving; when neighbours and family fail to step up and take responsibility, that then, is a pretty big wake-up call to us all” said Mrs Turia.

“As a Minister; as a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother; as Maori; as a member of the community; I am asking for us all to return to the demonstration of the concept, ‘he mokopuna, he taonga’ – that is, that every child is to be nurtured and protected as the treasure of us all”.

"Instead of sitting back and thinking we should 'mind our own business', I am calling on us all to make every child our business; to take the time to care".