A woman left her 3-week-old daughter sleeping in an unlocked car for five hours while she was at a nearby house neighbours say is notorious for parties.
Her 5-year-old son had also been in the 26-year-old's 1992 Subaru Legacy Brighton station wagon but it is understood he went to find his mother and fell asleep at the house.
The occupants of a house in the south Auckland suburb of Wiri phoned police on Wednesday night to say the car, which was parked in their driveway, had a baby inside.
Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini said the residents knew who the woman was but did not know her personally and praised them for their concern.
Police found the woman at a house about 50m away, where she was "in an extremely intoxicated state, to the extent she had to be assisted to walk back to her car".
Her son was asleep in a bedroom at the house but the woman "had no idea where he was", he said.
The two children will remain in the care of a Child, Youth and Family foster family over the next few days while a review of the incident is undertaken. A statement from the agency said this would include a meeting with the wider family.
"It is deeply disappointing that a mother would leave a new-born baby alone in a car with a young sibling while she was at a party. It is unacceptable to leave a baby alone in a car at any time and this tiny baby is no more than 3 weeks old.
"We would like to thank the members of the public who saw the baby ... and notified the police. Those are the actions of concerned New Zealanders."
A resident of the street, Susan Pomee, said there were always parties at the house where the woman was drinking, which made her "furious".
"I don't know why God gave children to these people. I hope they take her to jail for a good 10 years so she learns a lesson."
The mother, who was granted name suppression in the Manukau District Court yesterday, appeared on two charges of abandoning a child aged under 6, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment.
She was told by community magistrate Rae Brooker she could not have contact with her children at least until her next appearance next month unless Child, Youth and Family said otherwise.
Bail conditions included not consuming alcohol.
Her lawyer, Lynn Hughes, argued that if the woman's name and photo were published her son, who attended a local primary school, would be identified. She also needed time to inform her mother and elderly grandfather.
She "strongly disputed" parts of the summary of facts.
The woman did not appear to have any family supporters in court but representatives of community group Te Rau Korowai attended the hearing.
"We were having a hui about something else when we heard about this case and dropped everything to come," a spokeswoman said.
"Our people often don't know how to access services that are available to them. We are here to help. It may be housing, food or financially."
