By Anna Marie Brennan* of
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Analysis - Thursday's announcement of a public inquiry into the handling of the Tom Phillips case was inevitable. When children go missing for years, the public has a right to understand whether the agencies responsible acted with the necessary urgency and coordination.
Yet the inquiry goes beyond one family's tragedy. It touches on the integrity of New Zealand's child protection system and its compliance with international law.
When Phillips disappeared with his three children from Marokopa, Waikato, in December 2021, the case quickly became one of the country's most troubling child welfare mysteries.
For nearly four years, he managed to evade authorities, living in remote bushland until his death in a shootout with police in September.
What makes the case distinctive, and why it demands an inquiry, is the convergence of several unusual features: a parent reportedly acting without legal custody; the children's prolonged deprivation of education and healthcare; the
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