Dr. Luke Fitzmaurice

Profesor
Facultad de Derecho, Universidad Victoria de Wellington

Research area: Children’s participation, child protection and child welfare, indigenous children’s rights, critical indigenous studies, Kaupapa Māori, Te Tiriti o Waitangi

Education: Luke has completed his PhD in Law at Otago University in Aotearoa New Zealand, focused on children’s participation in the context of the child protection system. His research sits between law, policy and social work practice. In particular it focuses on tamariki Māori (indigenous children) and the potential tension, from an indigenous perspective, between the rights of children and the rights of whānau (families) in the child protection system. He is using a kaupapa Māori methodology to centre indigenous perspectives in the research. In 2010 he completed a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and in 2013 he completed a Bachelor of Laws at VUW. In 2017 he completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Child-Centred Practice at Otago University, and in 2020 he completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Indigenous Studies at VUW.

Research and work experience: Luke is currently teaching a range of law modules at the Victoria University of Wellington, and his teaching interests are primary focused on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Child Protection and Children’s Rights.  Prior to completing his PhD, study Luke spent seven years working in the New Zealand child protection system. His work was a combination of policy, operational policy and direct work with children and young people in state care. Between 2017 and 2020 was part of the ‘Voices of Children and Young People Team’, a team established to embed children and young people’s voices throughout the child protection system (which was being reformed during that period). He also worked within youth justice, operational policy and service design. During his doctoral studies, Luke has worked as a Research Assistant in the Social Work Department at Otago University, a Tutor at Te Kawa a Maui (the Māori studies department) at Victoria University and a Tutor in the Law Faculty at Victoria University.