A former patient of the Lake Alice psychiatric hospital's child and adolescent unit wants compensation now for the treatment he endured.
Lake Alice psychiatric hospital survivor Malcolm Richards says victims were denied justice. Photo:
The UN Committee Against Torture has ruled Malcolm Richards was a victim of torture during his two-month stay in the 1970s, and should be provided with appropriate redress.
Almost three years ago the same committee ruled another former patient, Paul Zentveld, was tortured, a decision that led to police launching their third investigation into the unit.
And last year the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care heard evidence of teenage patients being sexually assaulted, and given electric shocks and drugs as punishment.
Richards said given this weight of evidence, and the UN rulings, compensation should be quickly paid out.
"You never know when your number's up. I'm waiting for a scan to confirm prostate cancer at the moment.
"Life's short. You never know how short it will be. I've had three heart attacks. I've just got to keep pushing because you don't know how long I've got.
"I've got to get things sorted for my family before I go."
The 62-year-old was sent to Lake Alice in 1975.
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and administered drugs and given electric shocks, often without anaesthetic, including to his genitals.
Lake Alice psychiatric hospital. Photo: Supplied
The after-effects have continued and Richards hasn't been able to hold down work because he suffers from memory loss.
"The UN say you're supposed to be returned to the position that you're in before you're tortured, which is impossible, really."
Richards heard nothing from any government bodies for more than two weeks after he received the UN ruling last month.
Then on Friday afternoon he was emailed by the Crown Response Unit to the Royal Commission asking for his views on the redress framework being drawn up by survivors of state care abuse and other parties.
He does not want to wait any longer for compensation and said he would ask the UN to send a rapporteur to New Zealand if nothing happened.
"The longer this is dragged out, the more we're hurting because it's just tiring. It's draining. It's frustrating.
"At least if they talk to you you'd know where you stood. Say, 'yes, we're going to do something, but it will take us some time to work through it.' At least speak to us."
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care Crown Response Unit director Alana Ruakere said after Richards contacted the unit a staff member invited Richards "to provide his views on the design of the new independent trauma-informed redress system, Puretumu Torowhānui".
"The Crown Response Unit is coordinating the design of the new redress system.
"It is contacting survivors of abuse in care for their views on the design, and it welcomes contact from survivors who wish to provide their views.
"These people are being spoken with in confidence, so we will not disclose their identities."
International group the Citizens Commission on Human Rights helped Zentveld with his UN claim and also assisted Richards.
Director Mike Ferriss said there should be interim redress for Lake Alice patients ahead of the Royal Commission's report on the former Rangitīkei institution, which could be released later this year.
The UN committee requires a response from the government within 90 days of its decision, and Ferriss said that should be more substantial than just words.
For a start, the government could return the legal fees former patients had calved out of ex gratia payments they received about 20 years ago, Ferriss said.
"They've stuck their neck out, Paul and Malcolm, to take this case to the United Nations and put their case forward.
"They didn't know they were going to win it," he said.
"That's the last stop. You don't get any higher on the legal tree than that. If it were to be knocked back there's nowhere else to go."
Several Crown agencies, including police - who were criticised for not laying charges over what happened at Lake Alice until last year - are contributing to the government's response to the UN decision.
Previous police investigations in the late 1970s and between 2002 and 2010 resulted in no prosecutions.
The UN committee was critical of the second investigation and police last year apologised for its shortcomings.
Late last year they laid ill-treatment of children charges against former Lake Alice unit employee John Richard Corkran. The 90-year-old has pleaded not guilty and elected trial by jury.
Police said there was enough evidence to charge the unit's lead psychiatrist Dr Selwyn Leeks, but he wasn't fit to face trial. Leeks died earlier this year.
University of Auckland associate professor Stephen Winter, a member of watchdog group the Royal Commission Forum, said the process of compensation was a balancing act between moving quickly and getting it right.
The new process included survivors of abuse, and Māori - a viewpoint excluded from previous efforts that were inadequate and far from impartial.
"The simple fact is these are problems that can't be fixed. We're trying to figure out how best to deal with the problem.
"We can't fix the fact that somebody was tortured. There's nothing that can be done to undo that, so we're always struggling with that fact."
The latest UN ruling was important as it made it clear that Richards and, by implication, other former patients were tortured, a stronger finding than saying they were abused, Winter said.
"Abuse is a fairly generic term and it can cover all manner of sins going up and down the range of severity, but we reserve torture to describe acts that are particularly horrific."
Winter said the international scrutiny that came with UN decision was also important.
He said the Royal Commission had indicated elderly or sick survivors of abuse in state care could get some interim compensation from later this year.
But Richards said, given the UN cases he and Paul Zentveld had won, redress for them should be considered right away.
Where to get help:
For male survivors -
Road Forward Trust, Wellington, contact Richard 0211181043
Better Blokes Auckland, 099902553
The Canterbury Men's Centre, 03 3776747
The Male Room, Nelson 035480403
Male Survivors, Waikato 07 8584112
Male Survivors, Otago 0211064598
For female survivors -
Help Wellington, 048016655
Help, Auckland 09 623 1296.
For urgent help: Safe To Talk 0800044334.
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.