Gary Gerbes' whānau against the backdrop of the final report by the Royal Commission into abuse in care. Photo: RNZ
"Maybe the government just needs to listen" - Aaron Smale
The Royal Commission of Inquiry's report into abuse in state and faith-based care unveiled this week lays bare an ugly history, offering damning evidence and denouncing leaders for silencing or ignoring survivors for decades.
The government has promised to listen, but how it responds and whether justice is served remains to be seen.
Survivors gathered on Wednesday to march to Parliament, carrying a long banner of colourful ribbons bearing the names of the children abused.
"You are heard and you are believed," was the key message from Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who spoke directly to survivors sitting in the public gallery that evening. He acknowledged that what happened at Lake Alice amounted to torture, and promised redress would come - though it would take time.
The speeches that followed from all parties promised unity in responding to the Inquiry's findings and 138 recommendations, though some used their time to question some of the coalition's policies.
Opposition leader Chris Hipkins admitted Labour had not done enough when in power. Greens co-leader Chloe Swarbrick's speech criticised the coalition policy of boot camps, and drew the loudest applause from survivors watching from above. Children's Minister Karen Chhour (ACT) - who is responsible for those military academies - told those gathered the report only made her more determined to keep children safe.
Read more:
- Abuse in Care inquiry final report calls for reform and redress
- Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care: How we got here
- How colonisation created the state care to prison pipeline
- Māori disproportionately affected by state and faith-based care abuse
- Politicians' speeches pledge cross-party action after Abuse in Care report
Freelance journalist Aaron Smale has spent nearly a decade listening to survivors and telling key stories that led to the Royal Commission of Inquiry. He stood in the back of the Beehive theatrette on Wednesday, listening to Luxon's initial response to the report and asking questions about the link between state care and gang membership.
He says the report's a lot to take in - and will for the survivors too - but the apology set down for 12 November looks like a good first step.
"They're as diverse as any other group of people, so I can't speak for them, but ... my impression is that it's a very good first step. It will be the devil will be in the detail."
He says redress is where things get interesting, and whether the approach - which has kept survivors from taking their claims to court, railroaded those that got there, and used them to set precedents which would prevent further claims - will be changed.
"What does redress mean when you're at that stage, when you've had your innocence taken away as a child [and] it's impacted your whole life detrimentally, it's impacted your kids, it's impacted your grandkids - I know families that are into the fourth generation of this. So what price - if that's the right word - do you put on that? What dollar figure can you give them that's going to take away that, or give back that?"
The government has until November to come up with a credible plan for redress. Smale says every government department also needs to re-examine the system which sees victims of trauma punished and retraumatised.
"It's just like 'you're a bad person, we're going to punish you, we're going to take your patch off you, we're going to take your kids off you and put you in jail' ... and we need to rethink that."
In this week's Focus on Politics, Political Reporter Anneke Smith speaks to Aaron Smale and explores the initial response to New Zealand's inquiry on abuse in care.
Listen free to Focus on Politics on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, on iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
