Working in partnership with Māori

We consider it essential the Crown works in partnership with Māori when designing and operating the puretumu torowhānui system because of its te Tiriti obligations, because Māori are disproportionately affected by abuse in care, because Māori should be able to exercise tino rangatiratanga over a kaupapa that is central to their communities, and because tikanga Māori principles are sound ideas on which to base a system uniquely designed for survivors in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Specifically, we consider the Crown should establish a Māori Collective to lead the design of the puretumu torowhānui scheme, and also to work with survivors and their communities to develop an action plan to implement our recommendations for the puretumu torowhānui scheme and system. This includes working with a Purapura Ora Collective (see below), survivors’ communities including Pacific, Deaf and disabled communities, whānau, hapū, iwi, experts, service providers, stakeholders and community leaders. Ultimately the Māori Collective will need to work with the Crown and agree on the contents of any draft legislation required to give effect to any of the recommendations set out in this report, including draft legislation giving effect to the puretumu torowhānui scheme.

We would also see the Māori Collective exploring the possibility of a separate puretumu torowhānui scheme for Māori. Our sense is that one scheme guided by te ao Māori principles should be able to work for Māori and non-Māori alike. However, the question of whether a separate scheme for Māori should be established is not something we have been able to explore in detail.

The Māori Collective’s workload is likely to be significant, so it will need to be adequately resourced. We see the Crown providing this funding until its work is done. Establishing the Māori Collective would not displace the Crown’s te Tiriti obligations to partner with Māori in the design and running of the scheme.

Recommendations

5.  The Crown should establish and fund a well-resourced independent Māori Collective made up of Māori with relevant expertise and/or personal experience and representing a mix of survivors, whānau, hapū and iwi, pan-tribal organisations and urban Māori with a fair mix of gender, LGBTQIA+, rangatahi and Deaf and disabled people to:

• lead the design of the puretumu torowhānui scheme
• work with survivors, the Purapura Ora Collective, survivors’ communities (including Māori, Pacific, Deaf and disabled communities) and other relevant groups to develop a plan to implement our recommendations, including:
  • establishing a puretumu torowhānui system underpinned by tikanga Māori
  • developing the process for applying for redress
  • determining what support and services are needed to respond to tūkino, enhance mana and achieve utua kia ea
  • considering proposed civil litigation reforms
• work with Māori survivors, whānau, hapū and iwi to:
  • explore whether to establish a separate puretumu torowhānui scheme for Māori
  • determine the nature, timing and content of an apology or apologies to Māori for abuse in care, as well as the nature of memorials to those abused
• commission any reports, reviews or expert advice on areas considered important to the design of the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme, including an expert review of oranga services (see recommendation 68)
• build on this inquiry’s work by exploring how to respond to harm suffered by Māori in care to restore mana, tapu and mauri
• work with the Crown and agree on the contents of any draft legislation required to give effect to any of the recommendations set out in this report.

Active involvement by survivors and consultation by Crown about changes

Input from survivors is clearly absent from existing redress processes, and many survivors have rightly called for this to change. The Crown should closely consult and actively involve survivors in the design and operation of the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme. As well as being inherently right, this is also good practice. As set out in part 1.4, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires this for disabled survivors, and we think the Crown should adopt this standard for all other survivors.

We consider the Crown should mainly do this consultation through a group whose main purpose would be to advocate for survivors during the Crown’s decision-making on our recommendations and provide the Crown with expert advice. This group, which we refer to in this report as the Purapura Ora Collective, would consult survivors about our recommendations and the Crown’s proposed actions in response, and co-ordinate feedback to the Crown on how to implement them. The Purapura Ora Collective could carry out this frequently time-consuming and demanding work on behalf of the many survivors who are not in a position to get involved in this way.

Sometimes the collective may relay responses that have broad consensus and other times it may communicate a diverse range of views. Through its work, it would provide the Crown with informed, insightful commentary about what is needed to bring about the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme we recommend. If views differ, the collective may present the Crown with options. It may also look to overseas experiences for guidance, but should not lose sight of the unique context here at home. It should work closely with the Māori Collective, including to commission the expert review of oranga services. 

The Purapura Ora Collective is likely to have a sizeable workload and will need adequate resourcing. The Crown should fund it until its work is done. It should be supported by staff with the necessary expertise to work with survivors and provide productive, solutions-focused commentary and advocacy to the Crown. Some staff should have lived experience of disability.

The Crown should also consult survivors, experts and other interested people on the new system and scheme. As part of this, it should work with Pacific peoples to understand how both the new puretumu torowhānui system and scheme can be designed and run in ways that are consistent with the values of Pacific cultures and practices, such as ifoga, fakalelei and ho’oponopono.

The Crown should also consult Deaf and disabled people to ensure the scheme complies with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including the rights of disabled people and the corresponding obligations for New Zealand set out in articles 4(3), 9, 12, 13, 16(2) and 16(4) of the convention, and the New Zealand Disability Strategy. The Crown should also take an inclusive approach to ensure the many voices of survivors including youth and LGBTQIA+ are also heard.

We expect faith-based institutions and indirect State care providers to contribute to the funding and effective running of the scheme, and the Crown should consult them, too, on our recommendations. 

Finally, we draw attention to the need for the Crown and the two collectives to co-ordinate their consultation activities in a kaupapa-focused way to avoid duplicating effort and overburdening survivors and their whānau and communities.

Recommendations

6.  The Crown should closely consult and actively involve survivors in the design and running of the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme and the implementation of recommendations in this report and other reports this inquiry may produce. This should include establishing and funding an independent Purapura Ora Collective employing people with relevant expertise and lived experience of disability to:

• advocate for survivors during Crown decision-making on our recommendations
• ensure the puretumu torowhānui system and scheme are designed from the perspective of survivors
• commission, together with the Māori Collective, the expert review of oranga services.

7.  The Crown should consult survivors, experts and other interested people, including:

• Pacific peoples: on how the puretumu torowhānui scheme should be designed and run in a way that is consistent with Pacific cultures, including how the scheme and broader system can incorporate principles from Pacific restorative processes such as ifoga, fakalelei, isorosoro and ho’oponopono
• Deaf and disabled people: on how the design and running of the scheme will give effect to New Zealand’s obligations in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the New Zealand Disability Strategy
• A cross-section of survivors and experts: on how the scheme can be inclusive of a range of people, including youth and LGBTQIA+. 

8.  The Crown should also consult faith-based institutions, indirect State care providers, other interested parties and the public.

All-of-system approach

The effectiveness of the changes we recommended will depend, in part, on a well coordinated response by the government agencies, and other agencies (including faith-based institutions and non-government organisations) involved in or responsible for a host of matters relating to survivors, ranging from the provision of oranga services and the release of survivor records through to the prosecution of perpetrators. Government agencies include ACC, the New Zealand Police, the Ministry of Social Development, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Oranga Tamariki, Ministry of Education and organisations such as WorkSafe New Zealand. These government agencies also have relationships with faith-based organisations, non-government institutions and community groups that are integral to the provision of survivor care and will also be crucial to the effectiveness of our recommendations.

Recommendations

9.  The Crown should take an all-of-system approach to responding to abuse in care. 

Next: Public Acknowledgement and Apologies