Now New Zealand's first child abuse unit - set up to prevent a similar tragedy happening again by coordinating the agencies dealing with abuse - is due to open in Auckland in August.

It will house police, Child, Youth and Family staff, and specialist staff from Starship children's hospital, and promote therapy groups.

Its aim will be to stop children falling through gaps in the system, a problem that has been repeated in several high-profile child abuse deaths.

But a further $100,000 is needed to complete refurbishment of the building before the three agencies can move in, prompting a second Safe and Sound Appeal to be started at Saturday's Sky City Starlight Symphony.

Starship trustee Lucy Lawless, pregnant with her third child, will front the appeal.

She visited Starship yesterday to check progress.

The actor regards child abuse as a major cause of many of society's problems.

She said that everyone who was able "should get off our backsides and show these kids we want to make sure they have a decent chance to get through these abhorrent situations".

The gap in inter-agency care was identified in a report by the Commissioner for Children after the death of four-year-old James Whakaruru, beaten to death by his stepfather in April 1999.

That report found none of 40 health workers had coordinated reports to identify that he was being abused.

About 7000 children a year are assessed by Child, Youth and Family as being sexually, physically or emotionally abused, or neglected. Child advocates say that about 10 children a year die as a result of abuse.

At Starship alone, 600 abused children are seen every year.

The new unit stems from research by a Auckland University of Technology lecturer, Dr Emma Davies, and Auckland psychologist Dr Fred Seymour, which was published in 1999.

It found that among other problems, a quarter of the families in their survey on sexual abuse complaints had to wait at least three weeks to see a social worker.

The clinical director of the Starship child abuse team, Dr Patrick Kelly, said that the new, as yet unnamed, unit had been pushed by "ground-level, grassroots staff" over the past three years without financial help from any of the Government agencies it involves.

"We repeatedly got a clear message from the [Health] ministry that there was no money for this kind of service."

But late last year, Starship's members within the steering group were finally given verbal approval by the ministry on condition that it was a "zero-cost option".

Around $200,000 collected from the Starship Foundation's Safe and Sound Appeal held two years ago will be used to help set up the unit.

Once medical staff, police and Child, Youth and Family workers are under the same roof the annual funding they receive from their individual departments will cover running costs.

Dr Kelly said it was vital for the community to remember that child abuse happened every day.

"It's just that not every kid dies. Some of them have to live with the abuse every day of every year.

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