PM's Post-Cabinet Press Conference, 1 July 2019: Thinking Of The Children
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was joined by Minister for Children Tracey Martin to discuss the July 1 child services
changes.
• New National Care Standards come into effect – the first time New Zealand’s state care system will have explicit care
standards letting children in care and their caregivers know what to expect and what is required.
• Most 17-year-olds will be included in the youth justice system, instead of the adult system, with an increased focus
on education, training and rehabilitation to provide the skills to stop their offending.
• A new service to support an estimated 3,000 young people to prepare for and transition successfully from care and
youth justice services to adulthood begins.
• Explicit Treaty obligations take effect which sets out the Ministry’s responsibilities to improve outcomes for Māori
children and young people, and their whānau.
• A new intensive intervention service that will work with families to keep children safe at home will be rolled out,
and NGO and iwi providers of early intervention services receive a funding boost.
They discussed the government's response to the recent video of an attempted child uplift from Oranga Tamariki, and
child intervention policies.
Ardern then answered questions on the End of Life Choice Bill, the Waitangi Tribunal report on Māori And Primary Health,
investigating the state of the finance system, death threats against the Deputy Prime Minister and the PM, whether
National acted responsibly in the debate over the UN Migration Compact, proposals to lower the voting age, civics
education, the Government's achievements so far, and action on cancer care, and ANZ's modelling on the bank capital
proposals.