With less than a week to go until the Christchurch Whare Tapu Wānanga – a national gathering for survivors of abuse in state care – Many were abused as children under the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) and it has still not confirmed consistent or adequate travel support for those who need it most. For many, the chance to attend a healing event rests entirely on being able to get there. But MSD’s ongoing failure to coordinate, communicate, or show up is creating fresh harm.

Some survivors have received no response at all. Others are told that travel support is only available if their claim is still "open," despite the fact that the trauma they carry never closed. And in some cases, survivors have been offered travel payments so low they feel insulting – such as $10 each way for multi-hour round trips, or $100 to get from Auckland to Christchurch.

"What message does that send? That our healing is only worth a couple of dollars?" asks Karl Tauri, spokesperson for NZCAST – the New Zealand Collective of Abused in State Care. "We’re hearing from survivors who are crying, panicking, unsure whether they’ll be able to come. They’re retraumatised not by the past, but by this system that makes them beg for basic support."

MSD’s Historic Claims team has also confirmed they will not be attending the Christchurch wānanga, citing unspecified commitments. Work and Income (WINZ) in Christchurch gave the same response. This comes despite MSD having attended similar wānanga in Wellington and Palmerston North, where survivor turnout was high and agency engagement proved vital.

Christchurch alone has multiple Work and Income offices and hundreds of MSD staff. And yet, survivors there are being told no one is available. "Why is Christchurch different? Why do survivors in one city get face-to-face support and others don’t?" says Tauri.

The absence is more than just poor logistics. It reinforces what many survivors already feel: that their healing is not a priority. That after everything, they are still on their own.

NZCAST is calling for immediate, consistent national policy from MSD that ensures:

• Travel support is clearly communicated and accessible to all survivors, regardless of claim status
• No survivor is forced to cover costs upfront or accept unreasonably low offers
• Staff from Historic Claims and Work and Income are present at all major survivor-led wānanga

"This isn’t charity," says Tauri. "This is redress. Real redress means turning up, following through, and making sure survivors have the means to heal. If MSD can’t even get people to the marae, then what are they really offering?"

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