Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People's Commission

An important way we advocate for mokopuna is by making submissions and giving evidence to Parliament about important kaupapa. Yesterday our Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad was speaking up and standing up for the safety of children and young people at Select Committee. Yesterday, the Social Services and Community Committee was considering a petition by Safeguarding Children NZ and Claire took the opportunity to talk about one of our four strategic advocacy aspirations: all mokopuna grow up safe and well. (To read more about our strategic advocacy aspirations, you can find our Statement of Intent here: https://lnkd.in/g74AkxEd) Watch + listen to Claire providing evidence at Select Committee yesterday: https://lnkd.in/gRScueRE

✨ He Rangi Mokopuna! Today is World Children’s Day 🌏 35 years ago today, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted, setting out in a binding treaty the 42 basic rights that all children should experience in all circumstances, at all times. We know that around the world we are still a long way from this being real in practice, but the Children’s Convention makes it clear what must be done. Today in my role as Chief Children’s Commissioner of Aotearoa New Zealand I spent World Children’s Day alongside many different children and young people from around the country, and got to meet some of their families and whānau too! My day included: 🇺🇳 listening to and meeting mokopuna at the World Children’s Day breakfast at Parliament 👩🏻🏫 running an online class on children’s rights and the Children’s Convention for intermediate age children around the country (I loved the questions I was asked and the ideas I heard from them!) 🌱 supporting young people presenting 2000 postcards from children around the country calling for climate action (they presented these to MPs on the steps of our Parliament). Great to see children and young people participating in advocacy for their rights, and learning about and amplifying the Children’s Convention in these ways, so we can continue to ensure the Convention and children’s participation leads to real positive change. ☀️🙌 Ka haere tonu mātou mō ngā tika o ngā mokopuna. Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People's Commission UNICEF Aotearoa World Vision New Zealand Create Happy Media New Zealand National Refugee Youth Council

"We have to take this moment, we have to hold it tightly and not lose sight of it. It will take us all, collectively, to make real change." Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad spoke to John Campbell on TVNZ+'s Q&A show, reflecting on the Government's formal apology to survivors of state and faith-based care and how we must use this moment to galvanise change. She also spoke about her recent visit to the military-style academy pilot, the ripples of intergenerational disadvantage and the importance of listening to and putting children first in decision-making. Watch the full interview: https://lnkd.in/g2VixFbt

As we come to the end of Mental Health Awareness Week, Chief Children’s Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad shares her hope that we’ll continue this kaupapa far beyond the designated week. Here at Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People’s Commission, we’re also welcoming the first ever Child and Youth Mental Health and Addiction Prevalence Survey announced by the Government yesterday. We advocate for every single child and young person to grow up safe and well, and having good mental health support is an important part of this. This new survey will help us track how we can better address unmet need in mental health care. Read our media release about this: https://lnkd.in/gE9nCVGT

"It’s both shocking and encouraging that these diseases are entirely preventable. Shocking, because they simply shouldn’t be part of the experience of childhood here. Encouraging, because we know that with the right prevention efforts, these child health problems can be turned around. Our country can do so much better than this, and we must." Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad spoke at the launch of the latest Cure Kids 'State of Child Health' report at Parliament last week. This report uses hospital data to spotlight a growing depth of need in child health, and clearly shows that Māori and Pacific children, and those living in areas with greatest socioeconomic deprivation, are disproportionately affected by poor health. When we cross-reference this data to official child poverty figures, the overlap is stark and reinforces Dr Achmad's calls for a renewed focus on ending child poverty. Ngā mihi nui - thank you to the Cure Kids team, including CEO Frances Soutter and Professor Stuart Dalziel (pictured here), and everyone whose expertise and dedication helps to shine a light on this important kaupapa every year. Read Dr Achmad's piece 'Poor health outcomes for children are entirely preventable': tinyurl.com/32db7mc4 Listen to this morning's interview on Waatea News: tinyurl.com/mrxyr6b6

Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad marked World Suicide Prevention Day at an event at Parliament hosted by Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey this morning. It's wonderful to see cross-party support for the incredibly important kaupapa that is suicide prevention in Aotearoa New Zealand, and a focus on supporting wellbeing from an early age to keep mokopuna well and strong. Ngā mihi, Le Va Pasifika for sharing this photo.

"'Child Poverty in New Zealand' is a detailed report with lots of graphs and numbers. It didn’t make much of a splash this year. But it should have... "Crucially, the report makes clear the impact that Government decision-making has had on child poverty rates over time. What stood out to me, looking at the data over time, is that Government decisions and policies, at some key points in time, have improved the lives of families and children’s day-to-day experiences. It’s an important reminder that as a country, we have reduced poverty affecting children before. This is somewhat reassuring, as it shows that we can do it again, by making policy choices and decisions that focus on poverty reduction." Last week’s report from MSD shows we have made progress on child poverty before. In this op-ed for The Post, Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad says we can do it again, if we want to enough: https://lnkd.in/gFm4Sw9z You can also read this piece on our site: tinyurl.com/msncwz8p

Ngā mihi Jaden for this post, and please know that all of us here at Mana Mokopuna - Children and Young People's Commission, including our Chief Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad, are so grateful for the opportunities to work together with you, your team at I.Lead and other children and young people in our advocacy mahi!

“Malachi wasn’t seen at a time when he most needed to be seen. This review concludes that mokopuna are no safer now than when Malachi died, and that is extremely concerning.” A new review released yesterday from Aroturuki Tamariki | Independent Children's Monitor shows that very little progress has been made since the tragic death of Malachi Subecz and the Poutasi report that recommended a system change in response. Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad and Aroturuki Tamariki CE Arran Jones sat down with John Campbell for an in-depth interview for TVNZ+ and expressed their deep concern that safety nets for the children who most need them are still not in place in Aotearoa New Zealand. Find the full article: https://lnkd.in/gpdNHZX2 Watch the in-depth interview: https://lnkd.in/g9nTmpf2

"Section 7AA is a critical step towards recognising and reducing the ongoing harms of colonisation and systemic racism that affect mokopuna Māori within the child protection system. A repeal now risks progress made, and would take our state care and protection system backwards." We snapped this photo quickly as Chief Children's Commissioner Dr Claire Achmad went into the Select Committee room with its beautiful carved door to deliver our submission on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of 7AA) Amendment Bill today. You can watch and listen to Claire's kōrero: https://lnkd.in/gBdbW8Es Download our full submission: https://lnkd.in/guMKbFpT