The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care

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The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care is a royal commission established in 2018^[1] by the New Zealand government pursuant to the to inquire into and report upon responses by institutions to instances and allegations of historical abuse in state care and faith based institutions between 1950 and 2000.^[2]

History[]

Creation[]

On 4 December 2017, after an open letter from Action Station signed by many taken to Parliament, Cabinet agreed to establish an inquiry into abuse in state care under the Inquiries Act 2013. It also agreed that a Ministerial Working Group be set up to consider the potential scope and implementation of the Inquiry, led by the Minister for Children/of Internal Affairs supported by the Minister for Social Development. The terms of the inquiry were announced in November 2018, and at that time the scope was widened from covering abuse in state care to include abuse in faith based institutions.^[3]

A gathering of survivours and advocates met with those appointed at Victoria University to talk about the Inquiry and terms of reference. This was then decided and collated with input and approval of those who attended.

The Department of Internal Affairs is now responsible for administering the independent Inquiry.^[4] The Rt Hon Sir Anand Satyanand was appointed as the Inquiry Chair and member of the Inquiry.^[5] Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Children Tracey Martin gave details of the inquiry which was formally established on 1 February 2018.^[6]

Resignation of chair and pandemic delays[]

In August 2019, Satyanand announced his resignation from the Commission. In a surprise announcement, he cited the growing workload, which was higher than predicted, and his age of 75. He left the Commission in November 2019 and became the chancellor of Waikato University.^[7][8] Coral Shaw took over as chair, and Julia Steenson joined the Commission in June 2020.^[9]

The work of the Commission was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, with reduced sessions from March through June 2020.^[10]

Interim report[]

The Commission released its interim report in December 2020. The report estimated that about a quarter of a million people were abused in state-based and faith-based care, though this figure may be conservative and it will be impossible to determine the precise number of people abused, because of data gaps and deficiencies. It reported that most of the abused came from Maori and Pacific families, disabled people, and women and girls. It found that abusive behaviour ranged from common physical assaults and sexual abuse through to unreasonable physical restraint, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and medical procedures such as ECT therapy as punishment. The Commission's interim report said the state's redress processes so far had been overly focused on financial implications to the state, rather than on providing appropriate compensation to survivors and ensuring their wellbeing. It also said that survivors who made claims were frequently disbelieved and forced to retell their experiences again and again, retraumatising them.^[11]

Notable hearings[]

On 14 June 2021, the Abuse in Care Inquiry began hearing from former young patients at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital. During the 1970s, patients were reportedly subjected to massive doses of medication and electroconvulsive therapy as a punishment. There are 40 witnesses including 20 former patients.^[12]

Final report[]

The Commission intends to release a final report with recommendations to the government. This is due to be produced by 3 January 2023.^[13]

Responses[]

On 26 March, Cardinal John Dew, the Archbishop of Wellington and president of New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, apologised to abuse victims in the Royal Commission of Inquiry and stated that its systems and culture must change.^[14][15]

Commissioners[]

• Judge Coral Shaw – Chair
• Sandra Alofivae MNZN – Commissioner
• Dr Andrew Erueti – Commissioner
• Paul Gibson – Commissioner
• Julia Steenson – Commissioner

Anand Satyanand is a former commissioner. Simon Mount QC is the Commission’s Counsel Assist.

Criticisms[]

The inquiry faced criticism for appointing a gang member into a key role. Mongrel Mob member Harry Tam was employed as the inquiry's head of policy and research.^[16]

An abuse survivor accused the Commission of shutting down questions into conflicts of interest, saying that when he asked about commissioners' involvement with religious organisations, commissioners intervened to prevent further questions. The survivor received two letters of apology over the incident.^[17]

It was also criticised after some survivors were unclear on whether interviews they had done were part of the official hearings or were 'mock' sessions. Some survivors where concerned that evidence from those sessions would not be used and that they would need to repeat traumatising sessions. Commissioner Sandra Alofivae said that the interviews were official and evidence from them would be used, describing the sessions as "soft pilots".^[18]

A child sex offender was allowed to attend meetings with sexual violence survivors. The man, who is on the child sex offender register, was a partner of a person attending a panel.^[3] The Commission took three months after learning that the man had convictions to determine what they were.^[19] Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin said that her confidence in the commissioner "had been shaken"^[20] but later expressed confidence in the Commission.^[3] Senior Commissioner Paul Gibson faced calls to resign but refused to do so.^[19]

In April 2021 it was revealed that the Commission had asked for three emergency funding top-ups totalling $20 million. Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti, who is the minister responsible for the inquiry, said it was not poor financial management but a learning curve on how big the work would be.^[21]

References[]

External links[]

Official website