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The report He Pāharakeke, he Rito Whakakīkinga Whāruarua: Oranga Tamariki Urgent Inquiry is the result of an urgent inquiry into allegations concerning the contemporary actions of Oranga Tamariki. In October 2019, the Waitangi Tribunal had granted an application for urgency and had confirmed that the inquiry would focus on three issues:

• Why had there been such a significant and consistent disparity between the number of tamariki Māori and non-Māori children being taken into State care under the auspices of Oranga Tamariki and its predecessors?
• To what extent would the legislative policy and practice changes introduced since 2017, and then being implemented, change this disparity for the better?
• What (if any) additional changes to Crown legislation, policy, or practice might be required in order to secure outcomes consistent with Te Tiriti/the Treaty and its principles?

The panel for the inquiry consisted of Judge Michael Doogan (presiding), Professor Rawinia Higgins, Kim Ngarimu, and Professor Pou Temara. The hearings commenced in July 2020 and continued in October, November, and December, with closing submissions convened in February 2021.

The Tribunal came to the view that the disparity between the number of Māori and non-Māori entering care could be attributed, in part, to the effect of alienation and dispossession, but also because of a failure by the Crown to honour the guarantee to Māori of the right of cultural continuity embodied in the guarantee of tino rangatiratanga over their kāinga.

The Tribunal’s primary recommendation was that the Crown step back from further intrusion into what was reserved to Māori under te Tiriti/the Treaty and allow Māori to reclaim their space. In addition, the Tribunal recommended that a Māori transition authority be established. The primary function of this authority would be to identify the changes necessary to eliminate the need for State care of tamariki Māori.