Law change calls grow in wake of Malachi Subecz's 'completely avoidable' murder
Friday, 1 July 2022
The revelation authorities were not informed about the abuse suffered by Malachi Subecz before his murder has prompted child advocacy group Child Matters to call for a change in legislation – and now.
Ex-Police detective, lawyer and now chief executive of Child Matters Jane Searle said laws need to change urgently before another innocent child is killed in Aotearoa.
Searle made the call in the wake of Stuff revealing that photographs taken of the abuse suffered by Malachi at the Abbey’s Place daycare were never passed onto police or Oranga Tamariki.
Justice Paul Davison, who on Thursday sentenced Malachi’s murderer Michaela Barriball to life with a minimum term of 17 years, said chances were missed to save the five-year-old.
**READ MORE:
* Children's Minister Kelvin Davis wants answers from Oranga Tamariki over murdered 5-year-old
* Details of horrific abuse inflicted on 5-year-old murder victim revealed
* Former detective begins work as chief executive of Child Matters
**
“Adults could have taken steps to intervene and report what was happening, this is the clear lesson,” he said.
“A number of adults observed Malachi showed signs of injuries, which they suspected had been deliberately inflicted.”
He also said the malnutrition suffered by the five-year-old would have been noticed too as it was “a significant change in his appearance”.
Searle described Malachi’s death as “completely avoidable”.
“If the adults in his life had taken action, then the outcome would most likely have been different. Children who are being abused cannot stop that abuse – that is the role of adults,” she said.
“It’s astonishing to me that in New Zealand – unlike many other countries including Australia and the UK – child protection training is not mandatory for professionals or volunteers who work with children and young people.”
Stuff had also revealed in the wake of Malachi’s murder that, currently, no law exists in New Zealand to require teaching and daycare staff to alert police or Oranga Tamariki if they believe a child is being abused.
Searle said the tragic loss of Malachi should result in two important questions being asked - how did this happen and how do we put changes in place so that we can stop it happening again?
“With one child dying from abuse every five weeks on average in New Zealand, the need for teachers and childcare workers to have compulsory child protection training is crucial if we are to have a society that knows how to protect its children and young people, take action when needed, and follow up to ensure their safety,” she said.
“It is important to have good training in place for professionals so they know how to identify the signs of abuse and neglect, and then know how to respond, which includes reporting. Schools in particular need to ensure that they have good policy and procedures in place to support teachers through this process,” she said.
Searle said teachers in New Zealand are often not trained in this way, nor supported by good policies to report. That is an obvious gap that needs to be closed immediately.
She said every time a child loses their life or is seriously harmed due to child abuse, it is completely avoidable.
“This situation is real, across all parts of New Zealand society, and the consequences cost the lives of our children or leave them with life-changing harm and trauma. In turn, this creates a legacy of issues for future generations.
“With a national election on the horizon in 2023, it is time for politicians to listen to frontline organisations and do what they are elected to do – work with communities to protect our most vulnerable children and young people,” she said.