Andrew Dickens Afternoons

Last night I chose to watch Melanie Reid’s 40 minute documentary of the uplifting of a baby from her parents by Oranga Tamariki at Hawkes Bay hospital.It is a very tough watch.There were at least three attempts by the child welfare agency to take the baby from her 18-year-old mother who was cuddling the baby in her hospital bed. The attempts went on until the early hours of the morning.  The room was full of the baby's whānau, midwives, iwi leaders and the Melanie Reid.  Everyone was filming with their phones.  The baby’s 17-year-old father was there throughout quietly sitting.The case workers from Oranga Tamariki were in and out of the room constantly calling back to their own lawyers.  The whanau were also getting legal advice.Eventually, Oranga Tamariki gave up and instead the mother was allowed to go with her baby to a care facility while the matter was further discussed ahead of a new Family Court hearing next week.It was traumatic and dramatic but it is important to watch to understand what families and