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Erica Stanford: ‘Apologies can be hollow without actions’
On November 12, the Prime Minister, alongside his ministers and a selection of public service heads, will offer a national apology for the abuse and torture that tens of thousands of children suffered at the hands of the state
But as so many survivors have said since the Government tabled the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, words without action are hollow.
The minister in charge of the Government’s response to the landmark inquiry is acutely aware of this, and as such, Erica Stanford will also be introducing a so-called omnibus bill that puts forward a raft of legislative changes across different areas aimed at improving the state care system.
“A lot of survivors have said to me their number one concern is that they don’t want to have what happened to them happen to anyone else,” Stanford tells Newsroom.
So, Stanford, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and other ministers across portfolios like mental health, social welfare, disability, and children have looked at what changes can be made to legislation right now to try to make the state care system safer.
Stanford did not say what specific laws will be changed through the bill, which will be introduced on the same day Luxon stands in the House to acknowledge and apologise for the abuse, torture and trauma survivors have endured.
But among the 230 recommendations contained in the redress report and the final report, there are calls to amend at least 10 laws, as well as introducing entirely new pieces of legislation to govern a new care system.
These recommendations include things like changing the Human Right Act to provide statutory protection of the rights of Māori and disabled people to be free from abuse and neglect in care, and reviewing the Legal Services Act to remove barriers to civil proceedings regarding abuse and neglect in care, including means-testing criteria, charges over property, and repayments.
The commission also calls for a new Care Safety Act and Care Safe Agency to regulate the state and faith-based care systems – something unlikely to be addressed next month through an omnibus bill.