A law firm working with survivors is shocked with the Government’s recent announcement of further changes to the so-called ‘redress’ scheme for survivors of abuse in State care, including attempts to silence lawyers who represent survivors.

Cooper Legal Principal Partner, Sonja Cooper says a Cabinet paper purporting to deliver an ‘enhanced redress systems for survivors’ is doing the exact opposite.

“In a Cabinet paper, the Government indicated it may minimise legal fees it will pay to support survivors to seek redress. While, in a perfect world, there would be no work for lawyers specialising in abuse in care, the world is not perfect. If fact, New Zealand is far from it”, Ms Cooper and Senior Associate, Lydia Oosterhoff said.

“Survivors need legal representation. We have seen time and time again that when a self-represented claimant approaches the agency that abused them, they are told ‘nothing to see here’ and that they do not have grounds for redress.

“It is only when we get involved that the State accepts it is liable for the harm that it has caused, and the survivor is entitled to redress. This is just another way for the State to protect itself from taking responsibility for the harm it caused by denigrating survivors and denying them the right to the legal support they require.

“Legal costs paid to lawyers who advocate for, and support, survivors are a drop in the buck compared to the Crown’s legal costs and the costs to support the State machinery that continues to marginalise and disrespect the harm done to survivors.

“In our view, New Zealand is supressing the voice of human rights lawyers who attempt to expose corruption and who hold the State to account, which mirrors the conduct of authoritarian regimes.

“The Minister herself has said that the Government’s redress amendments will likely not meet the expectations of some survivors. This is highly misleading; these changes do not meet the expectations of most, if not all, survivors.

“It’s highly cynical that this Government is trying to say it is enhancing redress, when in fact it is slowly eroding the meagre options the State does provide to recognise the harm that it caused to survivors.

“For example, the Government plans to stop providing redress for ‘practice failures’ for people who were abused in MSD or MOE care. This covers many things, but to put it simply, it is when a representative of the State did not do what they were supposed to. This was often dictated through legislation or policy.

“Apparently assessing claims for practice failure is too arduous for those assessing survivors’ claims. Well, we ask this Government, how arduous do you think it is for survivors to have not been protected in the manner required when they were at their most vulnerable?

“The Cabinet paper stressed what Cooper Legal has been saying for a long time; New Zealand is completely out of step with the rest of the Commonwealth when it comes to providing redress to people who have been abused by the people who were paid to protect them.

“For some reason, known only to this Government, the Government is lauding New Zealand’s miserly rise in average payments to $30,000. In Australia and Scotland, these sit at around $100,000. Where is the fairness in that?

“The Government is further lauding itself for investing more than $750m in redress. This is a myth and is misleading for those who have suffered enough deception and deceit at the hands of the State. Making claims like this is another form of psychological abuse for survivors.

“The figure announced by the Minister only actually covers just over $250m for redress. In fact, around $130m has been earmarked for personnel costs, leasing buildings and other operating costs.

“The Government is saying loud and clear that it is much more interested in investing in the people who largely discredit and minimise the experiences of survivors, than the survivors themselves. This just shows where the State’s priorities lie, to protect itself at all costs.

“Unfortunately, this is what we have come to expect over the many years of fighting for survivors. The State will always protect itself, even when its representatives have committed unspeakable acts, including torture.

“The Royal Commission made it patently that the State has done wrong by survivors and provided a perfect road map to go some way towards rectifying this. This Government has ripped up this road map in favour of prioritising the comfort of many of the very representatives who have discredited survivors over decades.

“This is a national disgrace. We hoped the response by the Government would rectify the wrongs for survivors, but this response tells us loud and clear that this is a continuing, worsening, national disgrace.

“This Government, and those that came before it, should be ashamed” Ms Cooper and Ms Oosterhoff concluded.

The Cabinet paper can be read here: https://www.abuseinquiryresponse.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Cabinet-papers/Delivering-an-enhanced-redress-system-for-survivors-of-abuse-in-State-Care-Cabinet-papers-and-minutes-1.pdf

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