Care-Experienced Rangatahi Concerned Response To Royal Commission Won't Stop History Repeating
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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NZ Herald
20-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Danyl McLauchlan: The politics of the second Covid inquiry
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RNZ News
12-07-2025
- RNZ News
Mediawatch: Pandemic probe media focus flipped to politicians
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Newsroom
12-07-2025
- Newsroom
The Secret Diary of .. the Royal Commission Inquiry into Covid
MONDAY Thank you everyone for coming along to this excellent use of public spending. As head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19, I shall investigate, and investigate fully, the claims of those who say the government's handling of the Covid-19 crisis was a crime against humanity and was led by Jacinda Ardern who is not actually human but some sort of lizard with speech and hair extensions. We will now hear from an authority on the subject, and indeed on a great many subjects, Heather du Plessis-Allan from Newstalk ZB. She wishes to put forward the argument that Jacinda Ardern should attend the inquiry. 'She's making money off books and all sorts while many businesses here never recovered from lockdowns. Isn't a little truth-telling in order?' Thank you. That's very helpful. TUESDAY We will now hear from someone with an audience of 15 people, down from 17 last week, but who has insisted on making his views heard and is indeed frothing at the mouth. Could someone please pass Ryan Bridge from Herald Now a tissue? That's better. Mr Bridge wishes to jump on the bandwagon about Jacinda Ardern attending the inquiry. 'I was one of just a handful of interviewers who grilled her on a weekly basis during this time period. I'm saving the best bits for a book one day, but there was image and stage control happening behind the scenes you wouldn't believe.' Thank you. We cannot wait for the book. Will you write it? WEDNESDAY We will now hear, inevitably, from Stuff content provider Paddy Gower. Mr Gower wishes to crush the Jacinda Ardern bandwagon beneath the weight of his polemic aimed at the lowest common denominator. 'How good would it be if Dame Jacinda Ardern fronted up to the Covid inquiry? It would be really good for New Zealand, in my opinion.' Thank you. God almighty. Are we done yet? THURSDAY We shall now hear from Voices for Freedom. They signal they have very important information concerning the real figures of how many people died from Covid. Data from the World Health Organisation shows there had been more than 7 million Covid-19 deaths reported as of 22 June this year. What the hell does the WHO know about anything, contend Voices for Freedom, who stand before the Inquiry in a fetching array of tinfoil hats. Thank you for coming today. Are you nervous? Is that froth? We have run out of tissues. Mr Bridge had great need. Please compose yourself as best you can. Down to business. Many thousands of people around the world died, particularly in that early period, but do you dispute that? 'No doubt there were, as there are every year with flus and things like that, and yes, it might have been a particularly bad instance of that.' Thank you. Could someone please hand over a defibrillator? Or some heroin. I am losing the will to live. FRIDAY The Inquiry is pleased to announce that Jacinda Ardern says she will provide evidence to the second stage of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19. I shall investigate, and investigate fully, the decisions she made which helped to save the lives of an estimated 20,000 New Zealanders. Such an outcome must never happen again. It won't with this government.
