'Capable and loving father': OT's litany of failures in Tom Phillips case

A public inquiry into the handling of <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/08/marokopa-a-year-after-tom-phillips-death-no-winners-out-of-this-ordeal/">the Tom Phillips case</a> identified a <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/16/analysis-tom-phillips-inquiry-exposes-multiple-mistakes-by-police-and-ot/">series of failings</a> by Oranga Tamariki. <b>By Sam Sherwood of </b><a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/1463055/a-very-capable-and-loving-father-oranga-tamariki-s-litany-of-failures-in-the-tom-phillips-case"><b>RNZ</b></a> Fronting a media conference inside Parliament, Oranga Tamariki (OT) chief executive Amanda Malu addressed a just-released public <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/09/15/marokopa-inquiry-released-whanau-warnings-brushed-aside-by-agencies/">inquiry into the Tom Phillips case.</a> "This report makes for difficult and at times harrowing reading," she said. "It identifies opportunities that were missed to keep these children safe." She also addressed the children's mother and older siblings, saying the agency "did not listen in the way we should have, and this family deserved better from us". <a href="https://www.tvnz.co.nz/player/newsclip/revealed-the-missed-opportunity-to-locate-marokopa-fugitive-tom-phillips"><b>Revealed: The ‘missed opportunity’ to locate Marokopa fugitive Tom Phillips - Watch on TVNZ+</b></a> The public inquiry comes two months after RNZ revealed a series of failings by OT in relation to its handling of Mustafa Ali before he was killed by his father.