A moko’s story of his koro retrieving personal records from when he lived in a children’s home has been turned into a powerful 3-minute video story by the Citizens Advice Bureau to promote their launch of Kōnae: My Records Guide website.

Kōnae is a website designed to help people know how and where to access their records from times when government, faith-based or other organisations were responsible for their guardianship or care.

“Creating a website with information that informs people about how to access their records is incredibly important and is something that we have been working on over the past year. Its design has been guided by survivors and people with lived experience,” said CAB Chief Executive Kerry Dalton.

Survivors testified before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care that they encountered delays, missing or heavily redacted information, and sometimes deliberately hidden or destroyed files. The Commission recommended the creation of a website that would guide survivors through what remains a complicated and challenging process.

Kōnae makes requesting records easier. People can quickly find organisations holding their records through an interactive map and request them directly using an online form. Kōnae doesn't hold or manage any personal records. It provides clear steps and guidance on how to request records directly from the government or institutions that do or should hold people’s records. Developed over the past year, it is an important resource that simplifies the complex processes involved in requesting records.

“Survivors have both a legal and moral right to access their records when and if they wish to do this - Kōnae now exists to help make this happen, says Ms Dalton.”

The Royal Commission found that between 1950 and 2019, more than 655,000 children, young people, and adults spent time in places where government and faith-based organisations were responsible for their guardianship or care. Māori people made up a disproportionate number of those removed from whānau. Widespread, systemic abuse and neglect occurred in these places, impacting hundreds of thousands of people and generations of their families.

“Records can help people better understand decisions that were made about their guardianship or care. They can also serve as critical evidence for survivors seeking justice and redress,” said Ms Dalton.

“Hundreds of thousands of people in Aotearoa have had the experience of the state or another organisation making decisions about their guardianship or care. Our hope is the video will raise awareness of Kōnae so that people know that there is guidance to help them request and access their records.”

The project was funded by the government but at the request of survivors was developed independently from government.

“The CAB has a long-standing commitment to empower people to understand and exercise their rights. We are deeply honoured to have been tasked with developing Kōnae,” said Ms Dalton.

“We took a survivor-led approach in designing Kōnae, including careful consideration of language. Survivors made it clear they did not want to normalise phrases like 'state care,' because, as one survivor shared, ‘Care was the opposite of what happened to us’,” said Ms Dalton.

“That’s why we've chosen to say 'records' rather than 'care records,' and 'time spent in places like…' rather than 'being placed in care.'”

The name Kōnae was inspired by a survivor who helped develop the website. Removed from home as a small boy he began searching for his records in the 1990s and now has a box that weighs more than 20 kilograms.

“He told us that finding his records was like hauling in a net that carries part of your life story. Hauling it in has taken ages, it is hard, and heavy but worth it. In te reo Māori, Kōnae refers to a file, a woven basket, and the belly of a fishing net - symbols of gathering, sifting, and keeping what’s valuable. Kōnae embodies the process of reclaiming what matters, and offering users a place to recover, keep, or release parts of their history.”

“We know that alongside online information people sometimes want extra support from a person. The core CAB service of information and advice, provided by our 2,000 trained volunteers via our freephone number (0800 367 222) and from our 80 locations across Aotearoa is available to help people understand and access their rights and navigate Kōnae.”

Support is also available to survivors specifically through the Survivor Experiences Service.

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