National Restorative Justice Aotearoa Practitioners Conference 2010
Saturday March 27 2010

‘Restorative Justice : turning the tide’

Brentwood Hotel, Kilbirnie, Wellington

Hon Tariana Turia - Co-leader of the Maori Party

I was quietly impressed at the insight and the initiative of the Restorative Justice Aotearoa Association and the Ministry of Justice, in calling this hui on Restorative justice : turning the tide.

For if there was ever a case of turning the tide of injustice into a more enduring and peaceful solution, we would find that in the call for the repeal of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

The explicit association between restorative justice and the Foreshore and Seabed Act came through clearly in the report of the Ministerial Review Panel. The submissions revealed the extent of the injustice felt by many.

The Human Rights Commission described the Act as a “decisive set back in Crown-Tangata whenua relationships”.

Te Ope Mana a Tai reported that “the Foreshore and Seabed Act will never be viewed by iwi/hapu as anything other than an instrument of confiscation”.

And the Dunedin branch of CORSO argued that “the Government should be proving to the international community that we are redressing our pained history of unjust confiscation of traditionally held land, not continuing this legacy of raupatu as this legislation does”.

As all of you will know, restorative justice, in its purest sense, is a process designed to reduce the impact of crime on victims, and to hold offenders accountable for their actions.

It is about enabling victims a voice in the system, and providing the space for them to receive reparation, apologies and answers.

In the case of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, the offending party was universally recognised as the Government. Accordingly the accountability for redress and restoration was also in Government hands Te Hunga Roia Maori o Aotearoa/The Maori Law Society put this view forward by saying

“A Government that has the courage to enter into discussions is likely to find that genuine and enduring solutions are available, with a little creativity, and a commitment to achieving justice”.

We stand then, on the brink of history, straddling between the dark, desperate days of the 2004 Act; and the future which will emerge from the review of that Act negotiated as a key milestone in the relationship agreement signed between the National and Maori Parties.

In a few weeks time, the Government will be embarking on a consultation exercise to face the community, and to address the longstanding grievances that have remained in the aftermath of the Foreshore and Seabed Act.

The confiscation of the foreshore and seabed, like the alienation and extinguishment of Maori land, has all the hallmarks of the situations that may be most effectively dealt with in a restorative justice approach.

For if we think of restorative justice as requiring a full account of history; an acknowledgement of wrong done; forgiveness, healing, reparation and the restoration of effective relationships, then the treaty settlement process would seem to be entirely consistent.

Turning the tide would mean we are prepared to face the injustices of our history; and work towards the articulation of the truth in order to heal broken relationships and achieve reconciliation between Maori and the Crown.

Achieving Treaty justice is not, however, just about a Bill of Rights for Maori.

Achieving Treaty justice is also about the opportunities for all New Zealanders to benefit from the rights of nationhood.

As Judge Taihakurei Durie has said, “We must remember that if we are the tangata whenua, the original people; then the Pakeha are tangata tiriti, those who belong to the land by that Treaty”.

The greatest strength of the restorative justice approach is that it reminds us of the views of victims, who say that to experience justice they need to talk about the offence and its effects in a safe environment.

Following on from that, we know that whanau, hapu and iwi have often found the hearings process of their claims to be extremely painful, but also provide the impetus for a stronger understanding of their histories. It gives them a context to appreciate their experience. And importantly, it creates a platform from which to build a future.

But all too frequently the hearings – whilst open to the public – are heard only by tangata whenua. Tangata tiriti stay away – perhaps out of ignorance, perhaps out of respect. But until the stories are shared, reconciliation will never be achieved.

I have gone much broader than perhaps you expected this morning, in applying the restorative justice concept to the wider sense of injustice still felt so keenly within Maori communities.

But in essence what you may be talking about in an individual sense, is much the same as what I am talking about in a collective sense.

The restorative justice process encourages an environment in which the offender takes responsibility, demonstrates accountability for their actions, creating room for dialogue.

The essential difference that I am describing is that pertaining to a world view of collective responsibility.

I believe that the family group conferences introduced in the 1989 Children, Young Persons and their Families Act respected both the central importance of the collective in Maori society, while providing the policy foundation for the restorative justice process.

The FGC process remains a central component of the youth justice system for dealing with offending by youth from 10 to 16 years.

For adult offenders, restorative justice can occur as part of the Police Adult Diversion process; pre sentence, or post sentence in the parole of offenders and as part of reintegration back into the community.

All of these points provide an opportunity to bring the whanau together, to draw on the collective strengths of the family context to make things right.

Although of course restorative justice processes are not unique to Maori, the processes do have strong alignment with Maori values such as reconciliation, reciprocity and whanau involvement.

The key, as always, lies in the implementation.

And so this is where I come to whanau ora as unlocking that key.

I absolutely believe that whanau ora has the ability to bring the nation forward, to transform the way in which we relate together.

It is my heartfelt belief that when you build capability within the whanau, you build the capacity of the country.

At its very core, whanau ora is about the wellbeing of the group. While any number of professionals have the instruments to measure and record statistical progress of individuals, such measurements are not an adequate reflection of whanau wellbeing.

Whanau ora, then, is not just about the accumulated results of a group of individuals – it is primarily about the way in which the group operates as a whole to achieve health and wellbeing for its people.

It is about the strength of the whanau in having knowledge of their whakapapa, history and identity; being confident in singing their own waiata; in recalling the stories and the korero of their ancestors.

It is about expressing value and respect for all who belong to them – tamariki, matua, kuia, kaumatua.

Whanau ora is the fullest realisation of the roles, functions and responsibilities we have to each other. It will be seen in people who are able to collectively meet their own community and family responsibilities, rather than depending on someone else to tell them how to be.

It is about being able to make decisions and participate in all aspects of life.

It is about knowing that we will be there for each other.

I believe that restorative justice processes that recognise whanau as the foundation for change, are far more likely to reach enduring resolution.

I have been concerned that in some cases, professionals or outside groups appear to replace the role of whanau in the restorative justice approach. In my mind, there is no substitute for the role that whanau can play in ensuring their own family members are responsible and accountable for their actions.

I am absolutely committed to the vision that Maori strengths, strategies and solutions that encompass the whole whanau will create the wellbeing that we all aspire towards.

Restorative justice can play a useful role in ensuring we take on a more positively framed approach to addressing the issues that confront us – and we do that by restoring the sense of responsibility to shift our focus from talk and to act now.

I believe that whanau ora is the transformation that we have been looking for, to determine our own destinies, to shape our future.

Whanau ora is about turning the tide from the currents of despair and disempowerment, to the source of our greatest potential for change – each other.

The tide is in for transformation to occur. Let us share our stories, voice our own solutions and focus our collective strengths on creating the nation that our ancestors desired when they signed up to the promise of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Tena tatou katoa

ENDS

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