The House: Tuesday's formal apology from the two main political leaders was markedly, pointedly non-political. It was even polite. The Prime Minister thanked the Leader of the Opposition, the Leader of the Opposition supported the words of the Prime Minister.
The Leader of the Opposition noted that Labour were not going to politicise the topic of redress. "We're committing to finally paying back this debt. We welcome the government's action to streamline that process…"
A later round of speeches in the House were about a government bill that contains some initial measures to go with that apology. Labour MPs continued to play nice in their speeches focusing on the horror of the history and their hopes for the select committee process. Governing party MPs particularly wanted to point to recent changes and plans that might help prevent crimes against the vulnerable in the future.
The other two opposition parties (Green and Te Pāti Māori) were not in the mood for polite anguish. An abrupt change in tone began with Green Party leader Chloe Swarbrick's speech.
The House For Tues 12 Nov 2024
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
"The system of power and secrets which enabled at least a quarter of a million mōrehu, pēpē, tamariki, and rangatahi to be abused through decades was brought to this land and established through colonisation and oppression. That is how this State was established."
"This abuse was not an accident. It was not a byproduct. It is woven into the fabric of the system. It is woven into power structures that ignore the cries of children. If we want to end abuse and the culture of silence that surrounds and supports it, the way that that harm compounds and grows, we have to uproot the way that power works in this country…"
"One of the major components of this bill that we are debating right now, introduced to give some action to the words of this apology, is that it removes the explicit ability for children in so-called youth justice facilities to be strip searched. It's a welcome change, but the bar really is that low."
A few minutes later, when Mariameno Kapa-Kingi stood up on behalf of Te Pāti Māori, she picked up Swarbrick's banner of revolt.
"It would be too easy, actually, to dismiss some of the vocal disruption and reasonable disruption, actually in the Banquet Hall this morning, because what they were hoping for and expecting was connection, truth, and honesty. Speeches don't do that; people that speak their truth do that. So when that is occurring, survivors can tell - is that true? Should I believe you? Are you genuine in what you say?"
Which is a polite way to suggest that the victims believed that government speakers were lying to them.
She went on to say "'Sorry' just simply isn't enough, in my view. The Bill as it looks thus far -disappointingly, it starts off on the three or four bullet points with strip searches and restraining methods. I agree [with Swarbrick]; what a low bar to start with.
"The irony is that stopping people from bringing contraband into a whare, … in all of these stories, the contraband was in the minds and the hearts of the people that were meant to love them, not something that [the children] brought into a whare. It was something that [the carers] already had in their minds to treat and mistreat and disregard.
"The reason as well that I want to speak to this point is that there are other bills that have been pushed through that are equally as harmful: removing section 7AA. To not make that point would be me pretending that it doesn't matter, in this conversation, for fear of being accused of politicising."
It is a common suggestion that some issues faced by Parliament are so important that they should be removed from the politics that can reduce opinions to slogans, prevent long-term planning, or waste spending as policies flick-flack with changes of government. Good examples might be climate change adaptation, retirement saving, infrastructure spending or energy planning. There are certainly many areas that might benefit from fewer reactive policy fluctuations.
But at least two parties in this debate felt that for some issues not getting 'political' was just as bad. Swarbrick's speech included the following.
"Unfortunately, in acknowledging this truth, I'm sure that some will say that we're 'getting a little bit political'. Everything, though, is political. Because politics isn't just about political parties, it is about power and resources and who gets to make decisions that saturate and shape our daily lives."
The Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill passed its first reading unanimously and will now be considered by Parliament's Social Services and Community Committee, which will be seeking public submissions on it. It is due to be reported back to the House in March 2025.
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