Media Release
23 July 2009: For Immediate Release

60 Minutes Programme

On Monday 20 July 2009, 60 Minutes aired a 20 minute segment about the claims being taken by this firm against the Department of Social Welfare. This was also prefaced by a brief segment on the 6pm news on TV3.

A number of media organisations have recently contacted this firm in response to the programme, asking for further information on the claims. This release is intended to answer some of the questions that have been raised.

Since the programme, this firm has been inundated by calls and emails from people who were in Social Welfare care as children, wanting to take claims. Over thirty new client packs were sent out on Tuesday and Wednesday alone. We have also received a number of messages in support of this firm’s work, both from current clients and from various members of the public.

Cooper Legal acts for about 500 clients (mainly, but not exclusively, male) who are bringing claims against the Ministry of Social Development, in respect of the former Department of Child, Youth and Family, the Department of Social Welfare and the Division of Child Welfare. The claims are for abuse inflicted on them by staff, carers and other residents in institutions and/or Homes run by the State, including Epuni, Hokio, Kohitere, Melville, Campbell Park, Weymouth, Holdsworth and many more. In the main, the abuse includes physical, sexual and psychological abuse, solitary confinement, threats of, and the witnessing of, physical and sexual abuse and neglect of education. In many cases, the abuse was prolonged and repetitive.

In addition, Cooper Legal and another Wellington law firm represent about 350 former psychiatric hospital patients. Their claims are for abuse inflicted by staff and fellow patients, including physical and sexual assaults, seclusion and punishments such as unmodified ECT and painful injections. In many cases, the clients were children when they were placed in psychiatric hospitals, not because they were ill, but because they exhibited behavioural problems.
To date, over 260 claims have been filed in the Social Welfare group alone. There are almost as many claims filed in the psychiatric hospital group, and about 70 claims have been filed in relation to abuse that occurred in both Social Welfare and psychiatric hospital care.

It is anticipated that at least another 200 Social Welfare claims remain to be filed. That is not counting claims for clients who have contacted us in response to the television programme, or the dozens of clients who are currently awaiting confirmation of funding from Legal Services Agency, or those clients who will contact us in the future.

For at least six years, Cooper Legal has advocated, and continues to advocate, for a fair, non-adversarial out-of-court process to resolve the claims. New Zealand is lagging behind other Commonwealth countries in investigating and addressing the abuse of children in State care and of former psychiatric patients. In recent years, there have been formal Government Inquiries in Australia, Canada, Ireland and England into the treatment of children in residential institutions. These Inquiries have found patterns of widespread and systemic abuse extending over many years. Mechanisms have been created outside of the Court system for recognising the harm done and providing redress to victims. Cooper Legal has advised the New Zealand Government of possible Inquiry mechanisms that may be appropriate, and New Zealand also has its own precedents for undertaking such investigations and resolving claims out of court.

The refusal of the Government to consider an out-of-court process to address the claims, generally, has left the clients with the only option available, namely taking the claims to court. To date, the Government has: contested almost all claims vigorously; relied heavily on technical defences such as Limitation Act time limits; denied the existence of any systemic problem or culture of abuse; refused to conduct an official inquiry into the abuse of children in State care or patients in psychiatric hospital care; refused to implement an out-of-court settlement process for the client group; and put pressure on the Legal Services Agency to withdraw the clients’ legal aid.

At the present rate, it would take approximately 150 years for the currently filed claims to progress through the Courts. What little progress has been made in relation to legal issues, is being extensively appealed by both sides. Of the two trials of this firm’s clients to date, both resulted in factual findings that were highly favourable to our clients, but failed on technical legal defences. One of these trials is currently being appealed by Cooper Legal on a pro bono basis.

The Ministry of Social Development has set up a Unit to investigate claims brought by those who were in its care. In the very small number of cases where compensation has been offered as settlement, the amount offered has been inadequate. The reason for the often insulting amounts of compensation offered is that the Attorney-General is relying on the technical defences, such as Limitation Act time limits and ACC legislation. The offers have, in the main, only been made in respect of particular sexual assaults which have resulted in convictions. Cooper Legal has now withdrawn from this process because of the lengthy delays and generally unsatisfactory outcome for the clients.

In early 2009, the Government established a Confidential Listening and Assistance Service. Cooper Legal has real concerns about the limits of this Service, which is unable to: determine liability or the truth of the participants’ experiences or stories; acknowledge liability or make an apology for past actions of any official; report to the Government (or anybody else) on the stories it has heard from participants. Further, the Service is not permitted to allow participants to have legal representation when telling their stories, nor does it have a duty to ensure participants can access legal representation. This is of particular concern given the likely effect that participating in the Service would have on participants’ legal time limits for bringing a claim – the same time limits on which the Crown rely in defending the claims.

The United Nations Committee Against Torture has recently expressed concern that: “allegations of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment inflicted by persons acting in an official capacity against children in State institutions, and against patients in psychiatric hospitals have not been investigated, perpetrators not prosecuted, and victims not accorded redress, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation... The State party should take appropriate measures to ensure that allegations of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the “historic cases” are investigated promptly and impartially, perpetrators duly prosecuted, and victims accorded redress, including adequate compensation and rehabilitation.”

The number of these claims will continue to grow in the face of the Government’s refusal to acknowledge, apologise and address the claims in a substantive manner. It is hoped that the Government will take all necessary steps to respond to these claims in accordance with its international obligations and its duty to the people of New Zealand.

ENDS

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