Source: New Zealand Government
The Government is taking action to provide redress for more survivors of abuse in care, to include survivors of State-run mental health facilities from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 2022.
“The Government is continuing to address the wrongs of the past, and while this can never repair the harm suffered, we are focused on making the care system safe, and providing redress to New Zealanders who have suffered abuse in care,” Lead Coordination Minister Erica Stanford says.
“As part of the Government’s response to the Royal Commission, last year I commissioned work on gaps in the provision of redress for abuse in state mental health inpatient settings.
“Currently, the state redress system covers claims for abuse in mental health inpatient settings up to 30 June 1993. After that point, responsibility for these claims sat with many different organisations. These responsibilities were transferred to Health NZ after it was created as a Crown entity on 1 July 2022, but Health New Zealand does not have a formal, consistent redress process in place to manage or respond to historic claims.
“At an event late last year, I was approached by a woman named Charlotte who bravely shared with me her experience of abuse in a mental health setting in the 2000s and her fight for recognition and redress. Her attempts had hit bureaucratic dead ends with various agencies and authorities denying responsibility or declining to investigate.
“Charlotte’s bravery drew attention to this group of survivors who cannot access redress and confirmed this was a priority for us to fix. Survivors of abuse are not responsible for, nor should they carry the burden of, health system restructures or structural reforms or the way that government organises itself. A person who was abused in mental health inpatient care should have the same ability to access redress if it happened in 1988 or 2018.
“Charlotte and other survivors have described the significant difficulties and distress they faced when trying to obtain acknowledgement, an apology or accountability for the abuse they experienced in mental health facilities. They have then endured further harm and retraumatisation due to ongoing lack of recognition of their abuse and the absence of accessible pathways to redress and support.”
Cabinet has now agreed to amend the Redress System for Abuse in Care Bill (the Bill) that is currently before Parliament to extend the state redress scheme for abuse in mental health inpatient settings from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 2022, before Health New Zealand was established.
Health New Zealand will remain responsible for responding to claims from 1 July 2022. This mirrors other redress settings where the Ministry of Social Development is responsible for claims relating to abuse or the care, custody or guardianship of Child, Youth and Family and its predecessors while Oranga Tamariki is responsible for claims since it was established.
“While we can never undo the harm that survivors experienced, we are committed to meaningful change so that the wrongs of the past are not repeated. There is still significant work to do and we will continue with initiatives to support survivors and improve the system.”
The Bill was reported back from the Social Services and Community Select Committee on 13 March and will proceed through its remaining stages in the coming months.
