Abuse in care: Whanganui survivor takes redress concerns to Disabilty Issues Minister Louise Upston

Whanganui-based survivor of state abuse in care Denise Caltaux (second from right) with (from left) Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston and fellow survivors Gary Williams and Janey-Mei Cherrington.

A Whanganui-based survivor of abuse in state care says the upcoming Government redress system can end “the cycle of broken trust” but it must be done right.

Denise Caltaux was one of three disabled survivors invited to speak with Minister of Disability Issues Louise Upston about what the system could look like.

Caltaux said she told Upston there needed to be a clear distinction between redress and ensuring abuse did not happen again.

“A lot of survivors are very vulnerable to being emotionally manipulated – ‘if we give you less redress it will provide more money for us to stop abuse in services’ – but they are two very different processes and both very important,” she said.

Organisations with Government funding were already obligated to provide services to an appropriate standard “and to not cause harm”.

Caltaux said releasing more information on the progression of the redress process, even if it was minor, would relieve a lot of anxiety among survivors.

“I also asked [Upston] about the Government being more involved with survivor social media networks, which is where many worries come out but have no answers.”

Upston said she appreciated meeting with Caltaux and the other survivors.

“It was a positive meeting and more about the Government listening and learning from their experiences and insights,” she said.

“The survivors made it clear that they want to be kept up to date with the Government’s progress and have time to consider options put forward.

“They felt the current redress options available need improvement and it’s the Government’s intention to have a new single redress system operating next year.”

Another survivor at the meeting, Janey-Mei Cherrington, represented the deaf community.

Caltaux said Cherrington revealed many in that community did not know what redress was or were not up to date with the process because of communication difficulties.

“A lot of people with disabilities, who have been really harmed, cannot self-advocate and don’t have support systems.

“We need to make sure they get redress. It’s not just about people who are squeaky wheels.”

Minister of Disability Issues Louise Upston says it will take time to make decisions and implement changes to the current redress system. Photo / Mark Mitchell

During his formal apology to survivors last month, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced an additional $32 million to “increase capacity in the current system while we work on the new redress system”.

Last week, Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier ruled the Ministry of Social Development had failed to justify the amount paid to survivors and rates of compensation were “arbitrary and unreasonable”.

The complaint against the ministry was brought by law firm Cooper Legal, which represents more than 1000 abuse in care claimants.

Upston said the complexity of how a new redress scheme would operate required significant work across the Government.

“This work is being prioritised; however, it will take time to make decisions and implement changes.

“As we said at the national apology on November 12, the Government accepts that financial redress is important to many survivors and no amount of money will ever make up for what they have endured.”

Caltaux, who lives with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism and bipolar disorder, is currently entitled to redress of up to $9000 through the Ministry of Health.

She told the Chronicle in September she had not applied because of the amount of effort and proof required.

“If they give me a pitiful amount, it’s just going to make me feel more angry,” she said last week.

Caltaux said she often fell through the cracks when trying to find services to help her and ended up in crisis every couple of years.

“You can give us appropriate and decent redress so we can live good quality lives despite what’s been done to us.

“Or, you can spend way more than that dealing with the crises we get into because we’re not being supported properly.

“We want to contribute to the community positively, not be a burden.”

Her survivor work came at a huge personal cost but she said she had no plans to stop.

She gave evidence about her experiences to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which revealed that of the estimated 655,000 children, young people and adults in care between 1950 and 2019, 200,000 were abused and even more were neglected.

The Government had a chance to end the “cycle of broken trust”, Caltaux said.

“I’m never going to get back the life I could have had but I still have a life between now and when I die.

“[The meeting with the minister] was a really good day - I think we made a huge amount of progress.

“We are on the same team, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.