Malachi Subecz death review: Child safety system still failing kids - Editorial
- Malachi Rain Subecz’s death in 2021 led to multiple inquiries, but no significant safety improvements.
- The Independent Children’s Monitor reported 24 more children killed by caregivers between 2021 and 2025.
- Only two of 14 recommendations for improving child safety have so far been implemented.
Malachi Rain Subecz was 5 years old when he was tortured and murdered by his caregiver while his mother was in prison.
His death in 2021 prompted multiple inquiries and reviews.
But a new review shows New Zealand has made no significant improvement to children’s safety since.
In fact, the report from the Independent Children’s Monitor says a further 24 children were killed by their caregivers between December 2021 and June 2025.
Most of those children were under 5, including many babies, and most of the perpetrators were known to police.
This is damning.
We can agree that it takes time to fix a problem this big, but questions need to be asked about what some might see as a lack of urgency.
Six government agencies were in contact with Malachi, his killer, Michaela Barriball, and his mother, Jasmine Cotter. New Zealand Police, the Department of Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health all conducted practice reviews.
In 2022, these agencies jointly commissioned a review of the children’s sector from the former director-general of health, the late Dame Karen Poutasi.
She found that children were being failed by the system and made 14 recommendations for improving child safety.
Last year, the Government accepted all of them, but just two of those 14 recommendations have been implemented.
Here’s the thing: the Independent Children’s Monitor chief executive Arran Jones said this week that, even if all of Dame Karen’s recommendations were implemented, “... we are not confident that Oranga Tamariki will be able to respond appropriately”.
This, too, is damning.
This week’s report reveals that Oranga Tamariki was aware of half of those 24 children before their deaths because someone had made one or more reports of concern about them.
But still they died.
The review found some Oranga Tamariki offices took no action on more than half of the reports passed on to them from the national contact centre, despite those reports being considered serious enough to warrant a response.
Jones said people had to make multiple reports to Oranga Tamariki before action was taken.
A week before the Independent Children’s Monitor’s report was published, a coroner’s findings on Malachi’s death were released, including recommendations for changes in Oranga Tamariki’s practices.
“No more children should die because of a lack of safeguards, knowledge, training or funding,” Coroner Janet Anderson said.
The necessary changes to Oranga Tamariki’s practice had been identified, but were “not happening fast enough”, she added.
Jones said Oranga Tamariki staff were concerned about being unable to physically visit children because of limited resources.
It’s clear resourcing is an issue.
Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad said this week that better resourcing could help to alleviate the pressure on Oranga Tamariki and increase its workforce.
The system was clearly “under strain” and “it must be better resourced, including through Budget 2026”.
Children must be a priority, and it will take more funding to make a difference.
But if the systems and structures meant to protect our children aren’t fit for purpose, extra resourcing will only go so far.
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has called on New Zealanders to “work together to address this national shame”.
It’s also time for state agencies to work together on this issue in a cohesive way that centres on children.
Chhour says, “We are seeking to turn around generations of failures to protect our children. That will not happen overnight.”
That’s understandable. Yet, while we talk and talk about it, more children are being killed by those who should be looking after them.
If, as Mahatma Gandhi said, the true measure of a society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members, then right now it doesn’t look like New Zealand measures up well at all.