Children are the only important part of the story about babies uplifted by the state, former Work and Income CEO Christine Rankin says.
Rankin, who previously campaigned for the Conservative Party, told The AM Show she had been very involved with families such as the one recently featured in a video posted to Newsroom.co.nz.
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The 45-minute-long video showed the process undertaken during an attempt to remove a baby boy from his mother at Hawke's Bay Hospital in May.
According to Newsroom, Oranga Tamariki failed to notify the mother or baby's family he would be uplifted, tried to take him multiple times after injunctions were filed and eventually locked family and midwives out of the hospital while in a standoff with the mother to try and uplift the child in the early hours of the morning.
"All that matters to me is those children and most people know that my career and a large chunk of my life has been involved with these children," Rankin said.
"I know it inside out and upside down, and all that matters is their protection."
Despite heavy criticism at Oranga Tamariki's uplift process after the video was published, Rankin said she's not concerned about anything else except children's safety.
"Our murder rate is horrific. We do the most disgusting things to them [children] and since we got P the things we're doing to them both sexually and physically are beyond belief."
Newsroom reported in the case of the Hawke's Bay baby, Oranga Tamariki had concerns about family violence in the families of the 19-year-old mother and 17-year-old father.
Court documents reportedly show Oranga Tamariki cited transient home environments, drug use and a lack of parenting skills as reasons for concern when applying for the without notice order.
Midwives involved in the case said steps had been taken to address the concerns, and the parents have been working with iwi leaders to ensure the baby's safety.
The mother has reportedly been discharged to a care facility to look after the baby.
Newsroom co-editor Tim Murphy wrote on Twitter on Wednesday family court proceedings on the case were adjourned until July, despite the urgency of the initial uplift order.
Newshub.
