Government's policies seen as perpetuating abuse.
The New Zealand Government is set to issue an apology to survivors of state and faith-based care, but critics argue that this gesture will be hollow without meaningful change. The Green Party's Spokesperson for Children, Kahurangi Carter, says that the Government must not pursue policies that drove the abuse in the first place.
According to Carter, the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care provided clear recommendations on how to address the legacy of abuse, but the Government is instead pushing ahead with boot camp programmes and removing Treaty provisions from the Oranga Tamariki Act. This approach is seen as a continuation of colonial tools of control that harmed survivors.
The Green Party believes that actioning the Inquiry's 138 recommendations is essential to breaking the cycle of abuse against vulnerable populations, including Māori, Pasifika, Deaf, disabled, and Rainbow youth. To this end, they are pushing for the abolition of boot camps and the establishment of community-based support for rangatahi and their whānau.
Carter warns that without change, history is doomed to repeat itself, entrenching the cycle of abuse against those who have been disproportionately affected by state and faith-based care. The Green Party has launched a petition to stop the bootcamps, which can be found online at action.greens.org.nz.