Two arrested during uplift of baby by Oranga Tamariki at Auckland City Hospital

Friday, 6 September 2019

Six police officers went to Auckland City Hospital to uplift a newborn baby.

Two people were arrested during the uplift of a newborn baby by Oranga Tamariki, police have confirmed.

Footage posted on Facebook showed six police officers standing inside a room at Auckland City Hospital, while a group of family members begged for them to be allowed to take the baby home.

The baby's aunt, who filmed the incident on Thursday, said in the video her younger sister had given birth to a baby boy less than 24 hours before police were sent to the hospital to uplift him.

Police came to a ward at Auckland City Hospital to uplift a newborn.

'My sister just gave birth – this is what they do, they take our babies,' she said during the video, which has been muted by Stuff to protect the family's identity.

* 'We have a right to stand up for our babies'

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* Ombudsman to investigate process for baby removal**

One police officer told the family they would be arrested for 'obstruction' if they remained in the room, filming.

The mother of the baby, who cannot be named, could be seen breastfeeding her baby during the video and holding him while praying and crying.

'Baby is safe,' the woman filming told the police officers. 'Māori and Pasifika babies are being taken.'

The live video ended abruptly as officers arrested the baby's aunt for obstruction.

During the course of the video, the baby's grandfather was also arrested for obstruction.

A police spokesperson confirmed two people were arrested after they 'refused to comply with police instructions', but released without charge.

The uplift was ordered by a court, the spokesperson said.

'Any further comment about this matter will need to be referred to Oranga Tamariki.'

Oranga Tamariki's deputy chief executive, services for children and families, Glynis Sandland, said bringing a child into care was always an 'incredibly difficult and emotional situation for families'.

'It's never easy, but ultimately, Oranga Tamariki under law has an absolute obligation to the child and their wellbeing.

'Our role is to keep children and young people safe. Sometimes, this means that a child needs to be removed from an unsafe environment but this is never done without the family court first determining that all other avenues have been exhausted.'

Sandland said she was unable to go into specifics about the case.

'Both our social workers and police have a difficult job to do in such circumstances. Emotions are high and the filming affects engagement with families at a highly sensitive time.'

THE 'STOLEN GENERATION'

The process involved in taking a baby from its mother was laid bare by a Newsroom video in June 2019.

The case, which Newsroom reported, had iwi leaders calling for a new national approach to resolve the high incidence of Māori parents losing their babies through Oranga Tamariki applications to the Family Court.

Out of 283 babies taken into care last year, more than 70 percent were Māori or Pasifika.