Children skipping school isn't new, nor is truancy being used as a political football.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon claimed recently that about 100,000 children were chronically truant. He linked his allegation to the spate of ram-raids in Auckland.
But in fact, fewer than 20,000 children a year are suspended, stood down or expelled.
Figures out this week show there are fewer than 7000 persistent truants. But Māori is over-represented, making up more than half of children suspended from school and more than 60 percent of the unjustified absences.
The Hui went out with Waipareira Trust truancy officer Aunty Kimi to see why children are skipping school.
Kimi is part of a multi-disciplinary team that includes representatives from Kāinga Ora, Whānau Ora, and mental health mentors. The team has been supporting students and families across Auckland for the past nine years, but it's facing the axe.
The Government is redesigning Attendance Services and Waipareira's contract may not be renewed next month.
Kimi is a special wahine working on Auckland's North Shore to get kids back to school.
"Our whole goal is to keep [the child] out of OT (Oranga Tamariki) and the police's hands. That is our whole goal."
She said the reasons behind truancy are often complex and the homes the truants come from vary considerably, from multi-storey mansions with five-car garages to homes where the struggle is very real.
"You can have 60 referrals on your dashboard and not one of them is an easy fix."
She only gets 20 paid days to 'fix' them.
"As an attendance advisor, I only have 20 days on a referral. I've never done it in 20 days. When you look at it, it can take 10 days to engage," Kimi said.
"I've got parents on my referrals that are illiterate, that finished school when they were 12. School wasn't a big deal for them, so why should it be for their kids?"
When The Hui went out with Aunty Kimi, she was making unannounced home visits and cold calls.
The first was to the home of 'Master J', who is a former student of Long Bay College. He has been suspended after a scuffle with another student, being disruptive in class and lying to the principal.
Aunty Kim said he has ADHD and is unmedicated - something the school was aware of.
Master J was suspended and referred elsewhere but his first day in alternative education did not go well.
"He arrived at school with a knife in his bag and it went downhill from there."
Master J took the knife to his new school because he was scared of the other pupils. He's now been out of school for five months.
With Kimi's help, his mother is hoping to get him into a third school.
"He's got so much catching up to do, but I'm really proud that he's actually doing it. Yeah, we're really proud."
His mum said her son struggles with learning and with his anxiety. She's hoping to get it right this time.
The next stop with Aunty Kimi is the home of 'Miss G' - it's cold, damp and the roof leaks. The family rents it from Kāinga Ora and Kimi is using her contacts in her wider team at Waipareira to try to get urgent repairs.
Miss G isn't the only one absent from school - her four siblings have been off school sick for the past two weeks and their mother is also unwell. The family is living and sleeping only in the lounge to try and get warm.
Kimi said for many of the families she deals with, truancy is a by-product of the challenges they face.
"They live in a Kāinga Ora home and I have been trying so hard to get help for the state it's in and so they are finally going to go in and inspect it."
Waipareira programme director Jacqui Harema oversees the truancy programme and said different ministries across the government need to come together.
"We actually [need] a whole-of-government approach ... because in the next five or 10 years, these young people will be really disengaged - and then will be creating havoc."
Aunty Kimi believes it's vital the job of reconnecting young people with education needs empathy and patience.
She finds not being associated with the schools helps her to connect.
"A lot of the families won't even engage with the school. They won't answer any calls from the school, any emails from the school. I say, 'Use me to help you for a better path forward'."
She said the majority of the parents she deals with genuinely want their kids back at school but they're battling so many things.
"Let's not forget, survival. Putting the next lot of kai on the table, buying expensive shoes and uniforms. If they can't do it, they aren't going to send their kids to school.
"When a house is happy and a home is happy and they feel safe, there's room for hope."
Aunty Kimi and her colleagues will know by the end of November whether they can continue creating hope for students and their whānau.
