Four survivors of serious abuse while in the care of the State have filed legal proceedings in the High Court against the Attorney-General asking the Court to declare whether a new settlement framework fulfils the Crown’s redress obligations.

The survivors’ lawyer, Sonja Cooper (Cooper Legal Principal) says that last year the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) introduced the Rapid Payment Framework (RPF).

Last week, Cooper Legal filed two separate claims on behalf of the survivors. These ask the Court to declare whether the RPF provides effective redress for survivors and if the Crown should require survivors to sign full and final settlement agreements when accepting an RPF settlement.

“Cooper Legal has real concerns about the RPF and the way in which it was implemented. In essence, the RPF does not consider a survivor’s lived experiences in State care when proving redress to them” Ms Cooper says.

“This means that the State does not acknowledge the serious sexual, physical and psychological abuse, neglect, unlawful imprisonments and other human rights’ breaches it subjected them to.

“Instead, the RPF only looks at the amount of time someone was in the ‘care’ of the State and calculates redress based on that, with some additional top ups available.

“We have grave concerns about this Framework because on the one hand MSD is saying that it is a given that someone who was in ‘care’ for a long time would have had experiences that justify payment to them. It is also saying to survivors that MSD does not care about their experiences and does not want to hear their stories of neglect and abuse.

“Cooper Legal acts for New Zealand’s most vulnerable people. Our clients are impoverished, often have been or are in prison, have serious mental and physical health problems, and suffer from addiction issues.

“The Rapid Payment Framework takes advantage of these vulnerabilities. If you offer a person who has no money and a lot of bills to pay a small payment, chances are they’re going to take it. Even when we tell them that the amount offered is not sufficient and does not recognise the abuse they suffered.

“As lawyers, we do not consider the RPF allows us to adequately represent our clients’ interests. We tell them not to accept these shoddy offers from MSD, but at the same time, we have to let them know about the offers. If they have debts piling up, it is very hard for them not to accept this pittance.

“What really concerns us is that the clients need to sign a full and final settlement agreement. This means that when the small payment they receive is used up, they cannot go back the MSD and ask that it actually provide our clients with effective and meaningful redress.

“Not only does this disrespect and further abuse individuals who have already been irreparably damaged by the State, it breaches New Zealand’s obligations under domestic and international law.

“Experts have also agreed that the RPF is an egregious breach Te Tiriti and of tikanga as its own source of law.

“The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care and our experts have told us that effective redress scheme must prioritise and reflect a survivor’s mana, tapu and tina rangatiratanga. The RPF definitely does not do this. To the contrary, it creates further hara by not appreciating the harm that the survivor experienced at the hands of the State.

“Cooper Legal has tried every channel of communication with MSD and even filed a complaint with the Public Service Commission. At every step of the way, we have met resistance. Now, we feel we have no option but to ask the Court to declare whether the RPF meets the State’s redress obligations and whether survivors should be required to sign full and final settlement agreements”, Ms Cooper concluded.

ENDS

Lydia Oosterhof: 04 499 9025 / lydia@cooperlegal.co.nz

Sam Benton: 04 499 9025 / sam@cooperlegal.co.nz

Lydia Oosterhoff (she/her)

Senior Associate

Cooper Legal

Phone: (04) 499 9025

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