NZ apologises to children forced to live in bush for years with fugitive dad
New Zealand's government has issued a formal apology after an inquiry revealed that authorities failed to protect three children who were held in isolation by their fugitive father for four years. The report criticized agencies for minimizing concerns raised by the mother and failing to intervene despite clear warning signs.
Why it matters
The case highlights systemic failures in child protection services and the long-term psychological impact of domestic abduction and isolation.
Image source, NZ Police Image caption, Tom Phillips was not completely cut off from the outside world, the inquiry found
New Zealand has apologised to the three children of Tom Phillips who vanished with their father for years until he died in a police shootout after an inquiry found authorities failed to protect them.
"There were missed opportunities... and we're sorry about the impact that it's had on those children," Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday.
Agencies involved had "underplayed, minimised or overlooked" how the significant periods of isolation harmed the children, the inquiry found.
When Phillips took his kids, then aged five, seven and eight, into the bush in December 2021, it wasn't the first time he had disappeared with them. Yet they would not be found for almost four years .
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