Gloriavale leaver files claim against leaders
A former member of Gloriavale Christian Community has filed civil proceedings against the leaders of the isolated West Coast community.
John Ready filed a statement of claim against the leaders of the community in the High Court at Greymouth yesterday.
A group of former Gloriavale members, including former member James Harrison and Virginia Courage, supported Ready. Many cried and cheered as Ready emerged from the court after filing the papers and signing affidavits.
Ready said the case was about Gloriavale’s leaders ‘‘dereliction of duty’’ towards its people.
‘‘There are moments in history and in our lives that at the time I don’t think we can fully appreciate the important of them and I suspect this is one of these moments.
‘‘The High Court has received my statement of claim this afternoon and I have filed a statement of claim against the trustees at Gloriavale for what I and others believe to be a dereliction of their duties,’’ he said.
‘‘This is not about destroying Gloriavale in any way. This is about seeing that the right thing is done for the people that live there.’’
Ready said he feared for the safety of people, particularly young children in Gloriavale.
His sister Virginia Courage was there to support Ready.
‘‘To me this day is amazing. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to an organisation the size of Gloriavale. They have gotten away with so much. And it just seems that nobody has cared. There have been so many phone calls and letters to everyone you could imagine.
‘‘This is such a day to start the tide where these people can have freedom and their voices can be heard and most of all, families can be reunited. It’s amazing.’’
Harrison said it was an emotional day.
‘‘We’ve been out of Gloriavale for 51⁄
2 years now and struggled to get change with so many different Government agencies. Many people have written letters to the leaders pleading for change and nothing changes and so it’s time that something was done about it.
‘‘I’m so glad that John has had the courage to stand on behalf of all of us that have family and friends in there that we want to see freedom for,’’ Harrison said.
Ready has a legal team working on the case pro bono with the support of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Trust.
Trust spokeswoman Liz Gregory said it was a ‘‘historic moment’’ on behalf of everyone that ever lived in the community.
‘‘This is an incredible moment in history unlike any other that Gloriavale has ever faced. This is a real cry for help. This is going to have an impact on a lot of people’s lives.’’
The police have been investigating allegations of sexual abuse at the community.
Stuff earlier revealed the Gloriavale Leavers Trust met with Charities Services last December and presented a letter signed by 35 recent Gloriavale leavers asking the agency to open another investigation.
On August 17, Charities Services general manager Natasha Weight told the trust it would not open another investigation at this stage.
It followed a 2015 investigation by Charities Services, part of the Department of Internal Affairs, into the operation of The Christian Church Community Trust, the registered charity behind the community.
Trustees may have acted in a manner that constituted serious wrongdoing under the Charities Act, the investigators found, particularly when it came to issues including the handling of physical and sexual assault allegations and members wanting to leave the community.
However, Charities Services decided it was in the public interest for the trust to remain on the Charities Register, adding there was a high level of cooperation and genuine interest from the trustees to act in the best interests of the trust and the Gloriavale community.
Gregory previously said that over the past few years Charities Services had been fed hundreds of concerns about the oppressive nature of the Gloriavale leadership towards its members.
‘‘I am at a loss to explain how bad an organisation needs to get before there is intervention. This is an embarrassment to New Zealand,’’ she said.
‘‘There are people being harmed at Gloriavale regularly, and unless Government agencies get serious about it, there will be more and more harm.’’
One Gloriavale leaver, who previously spoke to Stuff on the condition of anonymity, said Charities Services needed to do their job and investigate.
‘‘The people at Gloriavale are not free. They are denied basic human rights. They are living in what amounts to a communist regime,’’ she said.
The woman said parents found it difficult to get medical attention for their children, in part because they were so busy working.