“15 years is too long to wait for change”

There’s relief that the government has released its full response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations over abuse in state care, but care-experienced advocates say there needs to be more reassurance that the atrocities of the past won't be repeated.

The Royal Commission made 95 recommendations in its 2021 interim report, He Purapura Ora, He Māra Tipu from Redress to Puretumu Torowhānui and 138 in its final report in 2024, Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light.

207 of the recommendations were addressed to the crown, and as of May this year, just 85 of them have been accepted or partially accepted.

VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai has been advocating for care experienced tamariki since 2017, and CEO Tracie Shipton says 99 recommendations are being considered further, and 23 have been declined.

“We are pleased there was a Royal Commission of Inquiry and that the country acknowledged this collective shame with the national apology, but there needs to be a line in the sand.”

“Rangatahi bravely shared their experiences of abuse, harm and neglect in care post 1999, and also made recommendations in a group submission Korowai Aroha. Young people need assurances that this won’t happen again.”

Shipton says VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai’s priority is tamariki and rangatahi going through state care now, next year and into the future.

“Whilst we appreciate there is complexity to navigate in working through the recommendations, we also know that abuse in care didn’t magically end in 1999. We are concerned that we are not cutting through all the red tape and bureaucracy to ensure our tamariki are safer now.”

“We know that the community has been awaiting this response from the government, we are still left wondering what real changes will result that will make tamariki safer now, because in 15 years those tamariki will be adults, so what's making them safer in the meantime?”

Care-experienced advocate Ihorangi Reweti Peters is gutted that all of the recommendations haven’t been implemented.

“The government has yet again failed survivors of abuse in care and many young people are still being abused in care today.”

“We do not want to end up having another Royal Commission of Inquiry in 15 years time. They need to get it right now, they need to draw a line under this.”

Shipton is also questioning whether the learnings from the Royal Commission’s final report are being considered when making wider policy and funding decisions, particulalry those decisions being made outside of the Royal Commission response work.

“We’ve just seen a huge contradiction in this year’s budget with money allocated to improvements to the redress system and improvements to the safety of young people, but at the same time funds are being pumped into bootcamps and a facelift of youth justice facilities.”

Shipton says there’s now a real opportunity to make meaningful change for the tamariki and rangatahi of Aotearoa.

“We’ve made a huge investment into the inquiry, survivors have shared the taonga of their lived experience and a huge level of analysis has been conducted by the Royal Commission. Let’s not let that go to waste.”

“We all need to absorb the gravity of what has occurred under the “care” of the state, and ensure we learn and commit to acting with urgency and making decisions that will keep our tamariki safe.”

ABOUT VOYCE:

We are VOYCE – Whakarongo Mai, which stands for Voice of the Young and Care Experienced – Listen to me. Established in 2017, we are an independent charity organisation that helps to advocate for the approximately 6000 children with care experience (children in foster or whanau care) in New Zealand.

We exist to amplify the voices of these children and ensure that they are heard – so as to positively influence their individual care and to collectively affect change in the wider care system. VOYCE was co-designed by children with care experience for children with care experience.

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