Malachi Subecz, five, was assaulted for months by his caretaker, Mikaela Barriball, including beating and burning, before being murdered in November last year.
Malachi was placed in Barriball’s care when his mother was sentenced to prison early last year. While with Barriball, he lived in a shack at the back of a property in Tauranga, where he was tortured for months.
In June of this year, Barriball, 27, was sentenced to life in prison with a 17-year non-parole period.
Her sister, Sharrron Barriball, (37) admitted she tried to disrupt justice when she appeared in court in April this year.
Malachi’s wider whānau complained several times to the state welfare organization, also known as the Ministry of Children, several times last year, citing concerns about the child’s safety.
But in a review released Wednesday, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier said no action had been taken and described Oranga Tamariki’s response as “a litany of failures”.
“Oranga Tamariki’s own law and policies place a child’s well-being at the center of decision-making affecting that child. Malachi’s broader whānau raised concerns about his well-being in the hands of his caregiver.”
He said the Crown agency failed to take the “absolute minimum” of action to protect Malachi, despite the wider child whānau first raising concerns in June 2021. Among the evidence provided was a photo of Malachi with what is believed to be a bruised eye.
But after the complaints were received, Oranga Tamariki spoke to Malachi’s mother in prison, who was not concerned, Boshier said. The ministry has decided not to take any further action.
“Malachi’s well-being and interests were not prioritized; they were instead mistakenly believed to be addressed or nullified by his mother’s approval of his caregiver, despite evidence that he may not be safe,” he said.
This led to another complaint that no action was taken. Again nothing was done. Boshier said there was no evidence that Oranga Tamariki met with Malachi himself to find out what he thought of his living situation, nor did it do a security check at the caretaker’s home.
“I believe that Oranga Tamariki failed to do everything necessary and desirable and should have investigated the worrying report.”
Even when Malachi was hospitalized, his uncle called the ministry again to complain, but was initially told there was no complaints procedure. Malachi died a short time later.
“There are a number of things that are believed to happen following a concern report in cases where a child is at risk of injury or neglect and if an investigation is found to be necessary or desirable,” Boshier said.
“When an investigation is initiated, Oranga Tamariki is required to complete an assessment, followed by a safety and risk screening. The screen indicates whether immediate action must be taken to ensure the child’s safety.”
Boshier found that none of these steps seemed to have been taken. There was also no record of Oranga Tamariki at any stage considering its obligations under the Protocol for the Protection of Children.
He said that the ministry has acted unreasonably and wrongly and that it should apologize to the whānau in a time and manner that was right for them.
Oranga Tamariki said today it has accepted the recommendations of the chief ombudsman.
Two other reviews have begun in the case and Boshier said he would closely monitor their progress.
Oranga Tamariki was conducting an investigation into his practice, while Dame Karen Poutasi had launched an independent investigation into the roles and responsibilities of the various agencies involved in caring for Malachi, he said.
“I believe my findings will help inform these assessments. The goal should be to prevent such tragedies from happening again.”
Boshier said he expected Oranga Tamariki to report on the conclusions of the assessments, and that he can make further recommendations if he is not satisfied.