Luxon apologises after inquiry finds agencies missed chances to bring Phillips children home

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has apologised to the three Phillips children and their mother, after a public inquiry found state agencies minimised family concerns and missed opportunities to prevent their long disappearance.

The children spent almost four years isolated in the bush with their father, Tom Phillips. He died in a police shootout in rural Waikato, according to RNZ.

The examination was formally titled the Public Inquiry into the Disappearance of the Phillips Children. It was conducted by Honourable Justice Simon Moore KC. Its final report was delivered to the Government on 21 July 2026 and released on 15 September 2026, according to the Ministry of Social Development and the Department of Internal Affairs. Louise Upston is the minister in charge of the inquiry.

The inquiry found the concerns of the children's maternal whānau, their mother's wider family, were minimised or overlooked by agencies for significant periods. In some cases warnings from the children's mother were never read, according to The Spinoff. It found a more collaborative approach from Oranga Tamariki, the children's ministry, and New Zealand Police could have prevented the disappearance and brought the children back sooner.

Luxon said the inquiry made clear some actions by the agencies involved had not been handled well and there were missed opportunities. He said it was entirely appropriate that the operational heads of agencies meet with the mother of the Phillips children.

Under the system, ministers carry the political response. Chief executives and the Commissioner carry operational responsibility for day-to-day work. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers and Oranga Tamariki chief executive Amanda Malu lead the two agencies at the centre of the findings. Both agencies apologised following the inquiry, and agencies accepted nine reforms, according to Te Ao News.

Luxon also spoke by phone with the police officer who was critically wounded in the shootout with Phillips. That officer is still undergoing a long recovery.

The broader context here is implementation. The test is not the apology or the acceptance of recommendations in principle. It is whether Police and Oranga Tamariki can show joint decision-making, clear ownership of risk when whānau raise concerns, and a file trail that shows warnings were read and acted on. The nine accepted reforms give Upston and Cabinet a concrete list to track. They also give the Opposition and select committees, the groups of MPs who scrutinise laws and agencies, a straightforward way to test progress.

In my view, the language around the maternal whānau will get close attention in Wellington. A finding that concerns were minimised or overlooked, and that some warnings went unread, goes directly to how agencies listen, record and escalate concerns. That is difficult to fix by process alone. It requires frontline practice to change and senior leaders to show they are checking that it has.