Youngsters alleging abuse at Oranga Tamariki unit in Christchurch speak out

Former residents of the Te Oranga care and protection residence in Christchurch have spoken to 1 NEWS about the alleged abuse they were subject to inside. 

Oranga Tamariki announced yesterday it has closed the residence after footage obtained by Newsroom showed staff appearing to use excessive force against children. 

"What you saw on the news recently happened all the time. It was really hard to see kids faces smashed into the wall or into the floor," one young person told 1 NEWS.

"I want the public to know that these places aren't really right for kids that are in care. It's not where we belong," another young person said.

They said excessive force was common and sometimes they were seriously hurt. 

"They would throw me to the ground or against a wall violently, which caused multiple injuries.

"My arm ended up being broken because they pulled it up behind my back too far and it snapped," one said.

"It was extremely traumatising to see and hear the bone in his arm snap," the other said.

In 2019, one family wrote to the prime minister and the then-Children's Minister Tracey Martin trying to raise the alarm about the facility. 

"We are not going to stand by and watch these children be abused."

They warned the excessive use of isolation was destroying the kids' mental health. 

"Please help STOP this ongoing emotional, psychological and mental abuse that is totally screwing up these already fragile kids."

The family was furious when the ministers simply referred them back to Oranga Tamaraki. 

1 NEWS asked the prime minister and Minister for Children if they had handled the complaint appropriately.

They said if Oranga Tamariki did not investigate the complaint properly then it is all the more reason for Te Oranga to close.

"The kids who have been through this deserve an apology from all those who didn't listen," one young person said.

"I feel like at night that I'm going to be beaten or have a broken arm again ... I don't know why I feel like that ... I get nightmares, but I don't know if it's from that, but when I went to the doctor and explained and they said it's trauma from Te Oranga," the other said.

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft said abuse is also occurring at Oranga Tamaraki's Epuni Unit in Lower Hutt . 

"They report being physically assaulted by other children. They report excess force and being manhandled by staff."

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However, it's claimed he may not be getting the full picture.

"They'd bribe us and blackmail us to have good things to say about the units when people from the Children's Commissioner would come in," one young person said.