The new, National-led government is seeking a significant lift in productivity and economic growth. Raising the performance of the public sector is central to achieving such an objective. In our view, improving public sector performance is unlikely if we rely solely on the management tools and approaches introduced some 20 years ago. Nor will periodic budget cuts and reductions in ‘back office’ resources result in the level of improvement desired (Cook and Hughes, 2009). Rather, the focus should be on how the public sector can stimulate innovation and economic transformation through its critical role as the leader of several large, pervasive value chains,  such as health, education, science, justice and social services.

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The New Zealand economy in the early months of 2009 faces challenges of historicmagnitude. The size of the public sector in the New Zealand economy makes it arguably the most important single player to manage the current situation. We can expect Keynesian policies designed to stimulate spending by consumers and businesses to be important. The poor economic outlook and policies to stimulate the economy mean that the government is faced with severe constraints on budgets and strong pressures to achieve high value for the money  expended on public services.

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It is an historical fact that tamariki Mäori are over-represented in Aotearoa New Zealand’s child welfare system, with a recent disproportionate increase in that over-representation. The recent spotlight on the removal of babies and, in particular, several highly visible examples in the media of attempted removals of babies, however, has once again raised the issue of the legitimacy of state involvement in ensuring the care and protection of children among Mäori. Increased accountability and transparency is one vital step towards restoring the public legitimacy of the child welfare system. This article examines the factors that led to and exacerbated the most recent crisis in Mäori views of the legitimacy of the child welfare system, and details contextual factors both common among state actors and unique to New Zealand’s child welfare system that influence systems of accountability. I conclude by providing a set of key factors that are imperative when moving towards increased systemic accountability of the child welfare system – factors that acknowledge and incorporate the historical legacy, current socio-economic position, and the significance of whänau and family.