Two years after the release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s final report, Whanaketia, some survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care returned to Parliament carrying flowers gathered from the very institutions where many were abused. They called on the Government to fully implement all 233 recommendations of the landmark Royal Commission.
The Royal Commission found hundreds of thousands of children, young people and vulnerable adults were abused or neglected while in the care of state and faith-based institutions over decades.
Flowers from former institutions carry a message to MPs
The day, and symbolism of the flower, served as a reminder that while the second anniversary of the Government’s formal apology will arrive in November, survivors say progress remains too slow.
“What’s been said and what’s been done are two different things,” survivor Eugene Ryder said.
“The Government today and the MPs were presented with those putiputi, a reminder of Whanaketia... We wanted to remind not only this Government, but every future Government that they need to listen to the recommendations in that report that not only offers redress to those that were abused but protects those that are in care right now and in the future,” he said.
Ryder said survivors had watched governments move quickly on other priorities while reforms flowing from the Royal Commission continued to drag on.
“It is a challenge for a lot of survivors that we’ve seen a lot of policies, a lot of laws being rushed through Parliament just in the last six months. Yet this thing seems to be dragging out and dragging out, and I think it’s lowering the faith of a lot of survivors.”
He also reflected on the promise made to survivors by the current Prime Minister.
“...the promise that was made by the current Prime Minister to survivors, that we heard and that things will change. It’s a hard one.”
Survivors say delays are eroding trust
Among the flowers gathered, some were from Ōwairaka Boys’ Home in Auckland, where Ryder spent time between the ages of 12 and 13.
“It is taumaha to wear these. I was a bit challenged with putting them on, but I know that for me, it’s a constant reminder of the taumaha that’s been put on all our survivors and our whānau.”
Survivor Tu Chapman, who helped name the Royal Commission’s final report Whanaketia while serving on its Survivor Advisory Group, said many survivors had become increasingly sceptical after years of hearing political promises.
“It’s been more than two years for us. We’ve developed some kind of resilience against listening to politicians who could quite possibly be gaslighting us in some way and just repeating the same narratives that they told us.”
Chapman said governments were “cherry picking” recommendations that were politically easier to implement while avoiding more substantial reforms around redress and system transformation.
“Whanaketia was a collective effort... It was an opportunity for us to come from darkness into light and in some sense... kei te noho pōhara tonu mātou ngā mōrehu.”
She said survivors themselves should be leading the next phase of reform.
“Get the hell out of it. Let the survivors come in and drive the change, because we know what the change is.”
Human Rights Commission launches ‘honour the promise’ campaign
The event also marked the launch of a new campaign by Te Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission, calling on all political parties to commit to implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations in full and launching their campaign and honouring the promise made to survivors.
Manawa Pomare, from the Commission, said survivors had already carried the burden of this kaupapa for years, and it was now up to institutions to ensure the promises made were honoured.
“Kua kawea kētia e rātou tēnei kaupapa. Nā, ko te wāhanga ki a mātou, hei kawe tonu, kia whakamanahia te oati i hoatu e rua tau ki muri.”
Pomare said the Commission’s role was to continue challenging governments of every political persuasion to uphold their human rights obligations and ensure future generations never experience the same harm.
“Kia kore anō ngā tamariki mokopuna e tukuna ki tētahi pēhitanga kei roto i ngā momo whare rerekē o tēnei motu.”
Minister says Government is doing ‘the very best that we can’
Lead Coordination Minister Erica Stanford acknowledged survivors remained frustrated but defended the Government’s approach, saying it was trying to improve redress while rebuilding the system.
“I made the deliberate decision to make sure that we were continuing to do a redress process. It wasn’t going to completely stall while we rebuilt a brand-new thing.”
She said improvements already made included increasing average redress payments, introducing top-up payments for previously settled claims and extending the scheme to include abuse in mental health settings after 1993.
Stanford also said the Government was continuing work on broader reforms, including a common payment framework, common experience framework and a single front door for survivors.
“We’re doing the very best that we can.”
For Ryder, however, the urgency is clear, especially for the survivors who have died before receiving redress.
“To this day, we have survivors that are passing away without getting redressed, so something has to be done.”
