Everyone around New Zealand will be sickened and horrified at the brutal and vicious attacks on a five-year-old Rotorua child and a four-year-old Flaxmere child over the last two weeks. These cases show an absolute need for an organisation such as Oranga Tamariki in spite of what many people think. If those objectors really knew and understood the extremely challenging difficulties Oranga Tamariki are faced with when working with some of these cases then they would be less critical of the organisation and its workers and show more gratitude.

Admittedly everything the organisation has done has been executed perfectly due to the challenging circumstances they work under.

Referring to the Flaxmere case Allison McDonald of Oranga Tamariki Hawkes Bay has said, "Family violence, drugs or alcohol are present in almost all these cases … These are not easy issues to address and can't be solved by a single agency … Everyone has a role to play in caring for and protecting our children and young people … We can confirm that we have been working with this family previously, and the situation involves challenging circumstances."

Had this five year old stayed under their care then this young, innocent child would probably not have suffered such a brutal beating with a diagnosis of being left mentally retarded and a cripple for the rest of his life.

Margaret Hills, Hairini