Pages

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Point of Order: Buzz from the Beehive - 26/6/24



Just in case you missed it – the govt has received the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care

Oops – did someone jump the gun in announcing the Government’s receipt of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care?

We raise the question on noting these two statements posted on the Government’s official website


The coalition Government welcomes the presentation of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care to the Governor-General.

This was was posted on the Beehive website in the names of Brooke van Velden, Minister of Internal Affairs, and Erica Stanford, Lead Coordination Minister for the Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions.

Stanford’s title is challenging for the person charged with painting it on her ministerial door and there’s not much space left on the page after it is included in her ministerial letterhead.

An earlier statement had said the same thing –


The coalition Government welcomes the presentation of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care to the Governor-General.

This one was posted on the Beehive website in the name only of Brooke van Velden, Minister of Internal Affairs.

Fair to say, just one ministerial press statement dealing with the royal commission’s report landed in our email in-tray .

It was sent to us around 9am in the names of both van Velden and Stanford.

Both Ministers contribute to the contents of the statement.

The Royal Commission was established on 30 January 2018 to investigate children, young people, and vulnerable adults’ experiences of abuse and neglect in State care in New Zealand between the years of 1950-1999. It was then expanded to cover care by faith-based institutions on 12 November 2018. It has also heard about abuse that occurred since 2000.

The report and the recommendations will be made public when the report is presented to Parliament during the next sitting week, on Wednesday 24 July. Ministers and parties will respond to the report at 4pm. This will allow survivors to travel to Wellington to attend if they wish, as well as allow time for the report to be presented in accessible formats.

Van Velden says:

“I want to personally acknowledge the significant contribution of nearly 3,000 survivors who shared their experiences of abuse and neglect over the last five years. My heart goes out to you, your families, and your support networks. This would not have been an easy process, and we acknowledge your courage.

“The Royal Commission gathered these experiences through private sessions and written accounts, along with witness statements at 14 public hearings held between October 2019 and October 2022.

“I also want to pay tribute to the commissioners and staff who were responsible for capturing the experiences, collating them and presenting the final report and recommendations to the Governor-General.”


Stanford says:

“I want to thank survivors for their bravery for sharing their stories. This is a significant milestone for them and it’s important we acknowledge that. My expectation is officials will work across Government to provide an initial assessment of the final report and recommendations to Cabinet over the coming months, I also expect that where possible, officials will engage with survivor representatives to help inform these

“Once Ministers have the opportunity to consider the Royal Commission’s final report and recommendations, we will take the time needed to ensure that the Crown response is well considered, coherent, and comprehensive.”


The Government is also continuing with work in response to the Royal Commission’s 2021 interim redress report.

Latest from the Beehive

26 JUNE 2024


The Education and Training Amendment Bill, which will set up charter schools, encourage more early learning centres to open, and provide increased transparency on school attendance, has been introduced for its first reading in Parliament.


The coalition Government welcomes the presentation of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care to the Governor-General.


Energy Minister Simeon Brown has today released the terms of reference for the Electricity Authority’s investigation into the Northland transmission tower failure that occurred on 20 June 2024, causing significant power outages in the region.


The coalition Government welcomes the presentation of the final report from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care to the Governor-General.


Space Minister Judith Collins is applauding students from Canterbury University’s Aerospace Club on their success at the world’s largest inter-collegiate rocket engineering competition, the Spaceport America Cup.

Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton

No comments: