Government ‘sheltering’ abuse offenders
"They'll give you $12,000 if you agree ... not go through the legal system. That concerns me." Ken Clearwater
Government departments could be ‘‘sheltering’’ child abuse perpetrators as calls for a Royal Commission into historical state care abuse remain unanswered, a judge says.
On Wednesday, experts outlined what they believe an independent inquiry into child abuse in state care before 1992 should look like.
The new Government promised an inquiry in its 100-day plan, but what shape that will take remains to be seen.
Previous Government-commissioned work, including the now-defunct Confidential Listening and Assistance Service (CLAS), had not done enough as ‘‘thousands’’ of people remained outside its scope, Judge Carolyn Henwood said.
Henwood, who chaired CLAS for seven years until 2015, was a panel member at the South-south Institute (SSI) on Sexual Violence Against Men and Boys.
She said previous Government claims the number of people abused did not warrant a public apology failed to acknowledge those who did not come forward.
‘‘When we saw 1100 people we got the strong impression they all had siblings,’’ Henwood said.
‘‘Many, many people had committed suicide over the years … I think it cuts a lot deeper.’’
Henwood said the service was ‘‘nowhere near finished’’ its work with prisoners when it closed. An estimated 40 per cent of Kiwi prisoners grew up in state care. CLAS ‘‘only scratched the surface’’ of disability issues.
Ken Clearwater, who is running the SSI conference, said the original CLAS terms of reference indicated ‘‘a continuation of a cover-up’’.
‘‘It said not to make an apology, not to give compensation, not to tell the stories to MPS or anybody else.’’
The Ministry of Health previously offered compensation claims of up to $9000. Clearwater said the Ministry of Social Development was now offering a ‘‘fast track’’.
‘‘They’ll give you $12,000 if you agree ... not go through the legal system. That concerns me.
‘‘If you give somebody $12,000 who has been institutionalised all their lives, relies on drugs, alcohol and violence to get through the day – that $12,000 is not going to be a deposit on a house.’’
Minister for Children Tracey Martin said it was ‘‘too early’’ to talk about the shape and timing of the inquiry.
‘‘We have asked officials for advice on the options and best way to proceed.
‘‘As part of that, we will consider previous inquiries and related work, including [CLAS].’’
Clearwater would present a ‘‘resolution’’ to the Government at the end of the conference. Victims’ health, mental health and education should be considered.
A Royal Commission into all institutional abuse, with powers to compel testimony from institutions, should be based on the Australian model, Henwood said.
‘‘The top of my list is accountability … I can’t see how the system is held to account,’’ she told a crowd of survivors.
‘‘Perpetrators just walk away … you can be moved on and, in a way, the department could be said to be sheltering offenders, who are free to offend on another day.’’
Gary Foster, an adviser to the Australian Royal Commission, told the conference a final report across the Tasman was expected on December 15.
‘‘It will cover children who were sexually abused in homes, by family members, by everybody.’’
Ministry of Social Development deputy secretary Merv Dacre said a resolution team could still receive claims and continued to work with people abused in state care.