Rangatahi impacted by a parent in prison say more needs to be done to ensure they are not punished for the crimes of their family members.

They have formed a youth advisory panel – Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō – which met with Children’s Minister Karen Chhour on the steps of Parliament.

They handed her an open letter calling for the establishment of a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts to help those left behind when someone is sent to jail.

About 20,000 children are impacted by whānau incarceration in Aotearoa.

Children who – while they have done nothing wrong – are nonetheless punished.

Courtney is one of them.

“Me and my siblings lost both of our parents in the justice system at the same time and we didn’t know till my older sister got a very unfortunate call from my family’s lawyers and after that, our Nana was left in charge of us four kids.

“We didn’t have any support, we were left in the dark, we didn’t even get to call our mum or dad or see them for ages.”

Four children’s lives turned upside down.

Courtney is part of the Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō youth advisory panel run by Pillars, which gathered at parliament asking the government to do more to help those like her family.

She said the rangatahi felt while their parents broke the law, it was not fair they were made to suffer due to uncertainty and a lack of support.

“All the stories on that panel, all our backgrounds, it’s all different, but we all can agree that we were the silent victim and it was horrible not knowing what was happening.

“We all have forgotten what our parents looked like or what their voices sound like because of some lack of communication, yeah, I don’t want that for anyone else.”

The letter presented to Chhour makes the case for a whānau navigator role in criminal district courts.

Whānau navigators would help families to access wrap around services, and ensure they are informed of their rights around prison visits and communication with their whānau member in detention.

A similar ‘kaiarahi’ role has been established in the Family Court and Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court.

The panel is being supported by the group Pillars, which helps children and whānau of prisoners.

Researcher and youth advocate Corrina Thompson said it was essential a whānau navigator was in place as soon as someone entered the judicial system.

“Far too often, children are largely invisible from the point of arrest, right through court proceedings, through to prison and sometimes it’s not until the person arrives in prison that the fact that that person is a parent with children is even known.

“That point between a first appearance in court and prison can actually be a really long time for a lot of people months, in some cases years.”

Thompson noted that the government’s tough-on-crime approach also impacted innocent families of offenders.

“There is not just here in New Zealand, but internationally very strong evidence to say that if we want to get tough on crime, we have to get strong on housing, strong on support, strong on culturally responsive intervention prevention, rehabilitation not being tough or soft on people.”

If there is government support for the proposal, Pillars and the youth panel are hoping a two-year pilot can be rolled out at district courts.

Chief Children’s Commissioner Claire Achmad has added her support to the idea.

“Children with parents and whānau who are in prison they should be supported to fulfil their full potential and have all of their rights and needs met.

“This particular advocacy and idea that Ngā Rangitira Mō Apōpō has brought forth is a tangible way for us to make these children visible and I really want to see the government take it forward and implement it in action.”

The Ngā Rangatira Mō Apōpō panel pitched a similar idea in 2022, which they said received support in principle from the previous Labour government.

As for Wednesday’s proposal, Chhour said it was still early days.

“I’m not going to make any commitments to supporting the changes what I’m saying is, that I’ve met with them I’ve spoken with them… and there’s room to have conversations about what that could look like.”