Wellington, June 4 NZPA - A new report drawing stark conclusions about the risk of abuse towards Maori children has been described as shocking by Maori children's advocate, Dr Hone Kaa.

The report, Death and Serious Injury from Assault of Children under five years in Aotearoa New Zealand, was commissioned by the Office of the Children's Commissioner and reviewed risk factors for death and injury from abuse in New Zealand and worldwide.

Among other findings, the report concluded that Maori boys were six times more likely to be seriously assaulted, and Maori girls three times more likely than non-Maori.

Dr Kaa, chairman of Maori children's organisation Te Kahui Mana Ririki, said he was shocked and saddened by the report.

"This is one of the first times I have seen a report make a direct connection between being Maori and child abuse," Dr Kaa said.

Between 1991 and 2000, half of the children killed by their parents were Maori, the report found.

"As a people this is the most critical issue we face. I urge every whanau in the country to become actively involved in the battle against child abuse," he said.

The report found that one child is admitted to hospital each week in New Zealand as a result of child abuse.

More than half (58 percent) of the abused children admitted to hospital were under one, and 77 percent were under the age of two.

Parental alcohol consumption was "present" in a third of the deaths of children under five. Compounding factors included a previous history of violence, impending parental separation and a lack of antenatal care.

New Children's Commissioner John Angus urged the Government to fund the internationally successful Shaken Baby Prevention Programme to help reduce the alarming child abuse figures.

Auckland District Health Board was considering launching a pilot of the programme which could then be rolled out nationwide.

"Their vulnerability means that almost all forms of assault can lead to serious injury and death," Mr Angus said.

"It only takes a small slap to the head or a short shake of a baby to do real harm."

The report found babies were at particular risk when left in the care of young men who were not their biological fathers.

The Shaken Baby Prevention Programme targets parents of newborns to give them information about infants' vulnerability to brain injury and to teach them how to deal with the frustration of a baby crying inconsolably.

The Paediatric Society yesterday told Parliament's health select committee that New Zealand had the worst rates of child death and injury from preventable causes in the developed world.

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