The chief executive of Oranga Tamariki will not resign despite a year of intense criticism and public outrage over the organisation's uplifts of Māori children.
Grainne Moss announced she would stay on as CEO on Wednesday afternoon after a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry into Oranga Tamariki's uplifts.
"I am not set to resign," she told reporters. "I am absolutely committed to the kaupapa."
It had been rumoured on Wednesday Moss would step down after a report by the Children's Commission said Oranga Tamariki was beyond salvaging.
The report recommended the organisation be gutted and rebuilt, with the power placed squarely in the hands of Māori.
The report follows a high-profile attempted uplight brought to the fore by a Newsroom documentary.
Newsroom documented the process as Oranga Tamariki attempted to uplift a one-week-old infant from its young mother in Hawke's Bay. It culminated in the mother being isolated in hospital with her whānau barred from entering as agents waited to take the child.
Moss has apologised for this incident and an overall culture of structural racism.
In the Tribunal on Wednesday she said racism is a feature of the system.
"The structural racism that exists in the care and protection system reflects broader society and has also meant more tamariki Māori being reported to it.
"The Crown should have identified the need to tackle structural racism head-on in the establishment of Oranga Tamariki."
