New Zealand Prime Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has apologized to three children who vanished with their father, Tom Phillips, for nearly four years before his death in a police shootout, stating that authorities missed opportunities to protect them. The apology follows an inquiry that found agencies had "underplayed, minimized or overlooked" the harm caused to the children by prolonged isolation.
Phillips took his children, then aged five, seven, and eight, into the bush in December 2021. Despite previous disappearances, authorities did not launch a search and rescue operation, holding a "misconceived view that there were no concerns for the children's welfare," according to the inquiry's findings released Tuesday.
The report, authored by former High Court justice Simon Moore, also criticized agencies for downplaying concerns raised by the children's mother, including those related to firearm safety, labeling them as part of a "parenting dispute."
Phillips died in a shootout with police on September 7, 2025, in Piopio, on New Zealand's North Island. The children have been under the care of authorities since. Investigators later released images of campsites containing firearms, ammunition, and beer cans, surrounded by dense vegetation, suggesting the squalid conditions in which the family lived.
The case, which captivated New Zealand, prompted public outrage over how Phillips evaded authorities for so long with three children in tow. The inquiry identified several missed opportunities, including documented sightings of Phillips and his children that were not promptly followed up on.
Evidence gathered through interviews indicated Phillips was not entirely isolated. In February 2022, he visited his mother without the children, receiving NZ$1,000 and food. He also undertook an hours-long shopping trip in the Waikato region in August 2023, spending nearly NZ$6,000 on items including food, children's clothing, and camping supplies.
The inquiry also highlighted a lack of communication and coordination among involved agencies—the police, Oranga Tamariki (the national child protection agency), the defense force, and the Ministry of Education—which hindered efforts to protect the children's welfare.
Social Development Minister Louise Upton echoed the Prime Minister's apology, acknowledging that the children were "let down through this process that spent four years in the bush" and suffered in conditions that deprived them of a healthy childhood. Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers admitted to missed opportunities and acknowledged the heartbreak of the situation, while emphasizing that the police ultimately recovered the children.