New Govt will remove 'vulnerable' from Ministry for Vulnerable Children's name

One of the first casualties of Jacinda Ardern's new Government will be the word 'vulnerable', which is being axed from the name of the Ministry for Vulnerable Children.

Newshub understands Minister for Children Tracey Martin will rebrand it as simply the Ministry for Children: Oranga Tamariki.

It's understood to have the backing of new Child Poverty Reduction Minister Jacinda Ardern and Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni.

The ministry in its current state was the brainchild of National's former Social Development Minister Anne Tolley, and replaced the former Child, Youth and Family service.

When she launched the new agency, Ms Tolley faced a backlash from the sector for calling it the Ministry for Vulnerable Children.

Many disapproved of the word 'vulnerable' being in the ministry's name because it was stigmatising for those young Kiwis using the service, and focused on the problem rather than the solution.

Even Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft refused to use the name, instead opting for its Māori name Oranga Tamariki, which translates as 'the wellbeing of our young'.

Mr Becroft preferred it being called the 'Ministry for Children's Futures' or the 'Ministry of Child and Youth Wellbeing'.

Newshub.