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Protesters call for 'fairer' child welfare system;
A group of people protested outside Child, Youth and Family in Rotorua yesterday, asking for a fairer system and more accountability.

The protest on Pukuatua St drew a small crowd, mostly people who said they had had bad experiences with the Government department.

Protesters held up signs saying: "CYF r users + liars", "Y r social workers not drug tested" and "Stop using our children as golden nuggets".

They also handed around a petition calling for a review of the New Zealand child protection system for bypassers to sign and motorists showed their support by tooting.

Rotorua woman Renee Anderson was among the protesters, carrying a sign which read "there is no excuse for false accusations".

She was protesting because her children had been "removed on a lie" by CYF and she had been treated "unfairly". She claimed no one had been held accountable.

Protest organiser Graeme Axford said an independent CYF complaints authority needed to be set up to ensure appropriate policy and procedures were followed throughout complaint processes. His ultimate goal was to make CYF "truly accountable", he said.




CYF general manager of operations, Marama Wiki, said there were several options available to any individual or family wanting to complain about how their case was handled. Case complaints were initially heard by CYF which carried out reviews at a local level. "Every effort will be made at this time to resolve any concerns."

If further action was needed, the matter could be referred to the chief executive of the Ministry of Social Development's advisory panel, which was independent from CYF.

"We listen to people's complaints, investigate them fairly, learn from any mistakes and continually improve our service which is why we have a thorough complaints process in place," she said.

People could also lodge complaints with the Office of the Children's Commissioner and the Ombudsman, both independent of CYF.

Rotorua police Senior Sergeant Ewan Dunsmuir said police kept an eye on the protest but were not needed.
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• Rotorua
• CYF
• Protest
• Graeme
• Axford