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Government Will Not Say If Gang Members To Be Excluded From Abuse In Care Compensation
The government is refusing to say whether gang members could be excluded from compensation for abuse they suffered while in state care.
Work is currently underway on a new redress scheme for abuse survivors in line with Tuesday's formal state apology.
All three coalition parties campaigned on cracking down on gangs and introduced a ban on gang insignia that kicks in next week.
Asked on Wednesday whether gang members would be eligible for redress, the relevant minister, Erica Stanford, declined to say.
"I have not made any decisions and neither has Cabinet. All of these things have to go to Cabinet," Stanford said.
"I'm not going to tell you today what's in and what's out and how much, because we haven't made any of those decisions yet."
Pressed again, Stanford said the question of whether gang members would be eligible was "one of the things that we have to be looking at".
"There are lots of things that we have to take into account," she said.
"We will do that through a Cabinet process."
Asked directly whether Cabinet was discussing excluding gangs, Stanford replied: "You know very well I can't talk about what Cabinet is discussing."
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also refused to answer the question when repeatedly asked.
"[I'm] not getting into any of the elements of the new redress system," Luxon said. "We've got lots of things to consider."
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, released in July, identified a significant link between state care and gang membership.
"Gangs provided survivors with the care (that is, attachment and belonging) and protection that state and faith-based institutions should have given," the report said.
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