17. The Terms of Reference directed the Inquiry to recognise the status of Pacific Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand and recognise that Pacific Peoples have been disproportionately represented in care.[1]

Summary of Pacific survivors who registered with the Inquiry

18. In total, 2,329 survivors registered with the Inquiry. As set out in Part 1 of the Inquiry's final report, Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light, Pacific survivors represented 5 percent (113 survivors) of the total number of registered survivors.

19. The Inquiry recognises that the true number of Pacific survivors who experienced abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care may be far greater. There are likely many Pacific survivors who the Inquiry did not hear from and who did not disclose the abuse and neglect they experienced in care. This, and the poor record-keeping of survivors’ demographic information and failure to document incidents of abuse and neglect, mean we may never know the true numbers of Pacific Peoples who suffered abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care.

20. The table below sets out additional demographic information about the 113 Pacific survivors who registered with the Inquiry (number and percentage of total Pacific survivors)

* MVPFAFF+ refers to diverse sexualities, gender expressions and roles in the Pacific (Māhū, Vakasalewalewa, Palopa, Fa’afafine, Akava’ine, Fakaleitī (or Leiti), Fakafifine).

21. Engagement with survivors, whānau and their communities was a critical part of the Inquiry. As the Inquiry progressed and learned more about how to connect with people in ways that were appropriate and safe for them, its engagement methods improved. The Inquiry sought to interact with people on their own terms.

22. The Inquiry held 9 fono and talanoa for Pacific survivors, reaching more than 230 participants across Aotearoa New Zealand. The Inquiry’s Tulou – Our Pacific Voices: Tatala e Pulonga (Pacific Peoples’ Experiences) Hearing in July 2021 was conducted in line with Pacific protocols in the Fale o Samoa in Māngere, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Commissioner Ali’imuamua Sandra Alofivae MNZM nurtured the vā (teu le vā) throughout the hearing.

23. In 2022, the Inquiry engaged groups of specialist advisors, including a Pacific reference group with lived or academic expertise. The Pacific reference group was provided with draft material, in confidence, to provide expert feedback for consideration in the finalisation of the Inquiry’s reports.

Historical and social context most relevant to Pacific survivors

24. Understanding the historical and social context in which the care system operated before and during the Inquiry period is crucial in understanding Pacific survivors’ experiences of abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care.

Colonisation and Christianity influenced Pacific societal attitudes and identities

25. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, missionaries began arriving in the South Pacific region. Although Pacific Peoples’ experiences of colonisation and Christianity varied, the missionaries’ impact on Pacific societies was far-reaching. Many Pacific societies adopted Christianity and it became a core element of their cultural identities. Some Pacific Peoples incorporated Christianity into their own belief systems.[2]

26. Pre-colonial Pacific cultures treated infants with attention and understanding. Raising children was a collective effort. Parents were not necessarily the ultimate authority figures; older members of the household, including older siblings,, could play a significant role in raising children.[3]

27. Children were expected to learn their place in the family and in the community through observing and listening to others. Children would mature to “assume responsibility” and to be contributors to the collective.[4] Part of this responsibility was learning the importance of service, and it was “widely understood that one’s existence is to honour, serve and protect their family.”[5]

28. Christianity had a strong influence on Pacific Peoples’ parenting practices, to the extent that physical punishment to discipline children became seen as normal and justified.[6] The adoption of Christian beliefs also brought with them negative attitudes and discrimination against people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity.[7]

29. Before colonisation, many Pacific cultures considered mental illness as ‘spiritual possession’ caused by the breach of a sacred covenant between people and their gods.[8] Pacific Peoples still see mental distress and disability as not just a medical issue with a physical cause but as an inseparable part of overall wellbeing involving “body, soul and spirit”.[9]

30. Colonisation and the introduction of Christianity may also have influenced Pacific Peoples’ views towards disabled people and people experiencing mental distress.[10] Pacific disabled people can face stigma and shame from people within their own communities, based on Christian beliefs in divine punishment for sin, and breaches of tapu.[11]

31. Christianity had a broader influence on settler society in Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole, including upholding a social order based on British laws and influenced by Christian values and morals.[12] These societal attitudes meant that during much of the 20th century, Aotearoa New Zealand society expected people to fit in and conform to a narrow definition of what was normal.[13] The widespread societal belief that Palagi people, culture and beliefs were ‘normal’ and better than other groups contributed to racism and other forms of discrimination against indigenous and minority groups, including Pacific Peoples.[14]

Pacific Peoples’ migration to Aotearoa New Zealand

32. Pacific Peoples have a longstanding whakapapa relationship with Māori and a common history of migration across the South Pacific that predates European contact. Pacific Peoples began migrating to Aotearoa New Zealand before the Inquiry period. Some Pacific veterans who participated in the New Zealand armed forces in the First and Second World Wars settled in Aotearoa New Zealand after returning from war.[15]

33. Large-scale immigration of Pacific Peoples to Aotearoa New Zealand began in the 1950s and increased rapidly.[16] Many Pacific Peoples migrated from countries with New Zealand citizenship rights, including Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and from countries with a special relationship with Aotearoa New Zealand, including Samoa (New Zealand was responsible for the formal administration of Samoa from 1920 to 1962). The Pacific population in Aotearoa New Zealand increased during the Inquiry period from 0.2 percent of the total population in 1951, to almost 2 percent in 1976 and 4.8 percent in 1996.[17]

34. The State initially actively recruited Pacific Peoples for low-skilled, low-paid jobs.[18] As a relatively wealthy country with educational and economic opportunities, Aotearoa New Zealand was known to some people in the Pacific islands as “the land of milk and honey”.[19] For New Zealanders, the Pacific islands represented a source of cheap labour.[20]

35. While Pacific Peoples took up the opportunity for a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand, some found the migration challenging. Economic hardship and racism made it hard to adjust to a new way of living and affected the ability of aiga or kainga (family) to enforce and uphold important cultural controls, values, supports and practices.[21] Churches often became the hearts of Pacific communities, replacing the village structures and support systems of their previous homes.[22]

Pacific Peoples were increasingly targeted

36. In the 1950s there was growing public concern and social unease about juvenile delinquency, “adolescent independence, gendered social shifts and weakening family control”.[23] The State responded by appointing lawyer Oswald Mazengarb to chair a Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents in 1954. The resulting Mazengarb Report was sent to every household in the country, which fuelled public anxieties about young people.[24]

37. In this environment of heightened social anxiety and societal attitudes based on an assumption that European people, cultures and beliefs were ‘normal’, racism led to oversurveillance of Pacific children and young people. As more Pacific families migrated to Aotearoa New Zealand and settled in urban areas, Pacific children and young people became more visible to social welfare and other authorities. Police officers were more likely to intervene with Pacific and Māori youth.[25]

38. During the first half of the Inquiry period, care settings grew both in the range of settings and the numbers of children, young people and adults taken and placed in them. Pacific children, young people and adults were increasingly placed in all care settings, becoming over-represented. Pacific children and young people began appearing before the courts in increasing numbers from the 1960s. Like Māori, Pacific children and young people were more likely than non-Pacific youth to be targeted by NZ Police and prosecuted.[26]

39. The economic downturn of the 1970s led to a State focus on Pacific Peoples and made their “place in Aotearoa New Zealand both difficult and precarious”.[27] Pacific Peoples faced increasing discrimination and backlash. Dr Seini Taufa told the Inquiry that “Pacific People were targeted as illegal immigrants in New Zealand and were seen to be threatening the rights of ‘New Zealanders’ to jobs”.[28]

40. This led to what is now known as the Dawn Raids, which began in 1974 and ended in 1976. NZ Police raided the homes and workplaces of Pacific Peoples, often in the early hours of the morning and “…employing aggressive or intimidatory tactics”, to find overstayers with expired work permits.[29] NZ Police specifically targeted Pacific Peoples rather than other groups of workers who had also overstayed their visas.[30]

41. Pacific communities were distressed by the raids. Imprisonment and deportation disrupted families’ and individuals’ lives. Children and young people could find themselves alone while parents and caregivers were processed as overstayers.[31] Some enduring effects of the Dawn Raids included Pacific Peoples and the term overstayer being seen as one and the same, and experiences of ongoing and widespread racism.

42. Pacific Peoples born in Aotearoa New Zealand formed the Polynesian Panther Party in response to the growing racism and discrimination they faced.[32] The Polynesian Panther movement was the major opposer of the Dawn Raids and fought for a fairer immigration policy, and for better conditions for Pacific migrant workers. Through their efforts the Polynesian Panther Party drew national attention to the poor conditions of Pacific migrants and the discrimination they faced.[33]

Pacific values framework applied by the Inquiry

43. Part 1 of the Inquiry's final report, Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light, sets out the Pacific values framework that the Inquiry used to guide its analysis and understanding of Pacific Peoples’ experiences of abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care.

44. Informed by the knowledge, expertise and work of the Pacific reference group and the Fonofale model of Pacific health and wellbeing, the Inquiry used a values framework that was inclusive of all Pacific Peoples to guide its work. These values reflected what the Inquiry heard from Pacific survivors, their families and others from Pacific communities. In preparing this report and applying the Pacific values framework, the Inquiry was conscious of approaching Pacific Peoples’ diverse experiences with humility, or vakarokoroko in vosa vakaviti (Fijian language), and respect.[34]

45. The Inquiry acknowledges that each individual Pacific culture is unique in its history, worldview and values, and in how its values are upheld, including how rituals and ceremonies are performed. Though these cultures are not homogenous, common values and concepts relating to the space of conflict or dispute resolution can be identified across many Pacific cultures. The Inquiry selected examples from different Pacific languages to represent each value.

46. The Pacific values used by the Inquiry, which were first set out in the Inquiry’s report Tāwharautia: Pūrongo o te Wā,[35] are:

a.    kainga, which means family in te taetae ni Kiribati (Kiribati language)

b.    fa’aaloalo, which means respect in agana Samoa (Samoan language)

c.     fetokoni’aki, which means reciprocity in lea faka-Tonga (Tongan language)

d.    aro’a, which means love in reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani (Cook Islands Māori language)

e.    tapuakiga/talitonuga, which means spirituality, indigenous beliefs and Christianity, in agana Tokelau (Tokelauan language)

f.      kaitasi, which means collectivism and shared responsibility in gana Tuvalu (Tuvaluan language).

47. The values described above are interwoven and intersecting, often overlapping with one another. These values are understood to exist, come together, have meaning and interact within the concept of vā, which is the “space between” that holds people and things together.[36] Pacific worldviews have a strong emphasis on relationships and the intrinsic interconnections, or vā, between people and the material and spiritual worlds. When these values are honoured and practised, they create and reflect the conditions for honouring the vā.

Footnotes