An admission of failures —and missed opportunities— over the long disappearance of Tom Phillips and his children. 

A four-year hunt for the fugitives ended in gunfire last September when Police killed Phillips. 

An inquiry's exposed numerous failures by Police and Oranga Tamariki and a lack of information sharing. 

Deputy Police Commissioner Jill Rogers told Mike Hosking they ultimately achieved what they set out to do, which was recover the children. 

However, she says four years in the bush was absolutely too long, and she can't deny that the conditions the children were kept in were inhumane. 

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