The Salvation Army response to Recommendation 130 of Royal Commission report

The Salvation Army acknowledges the recommendations from the Royal Commission’s report: Whanaketia – Through pain and trauma, from darkness to light Whakairihia ki te tihi o Maungāongo – on abuse in state care and in the care of faith-based institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand.

We affirm all the findings and recommendations, including public acknowledgements and apologies from faith leaders and support the establishment of the puretumu torowhānui system that is survivor-centric, trauma-informed, and open to all survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. We fully support the puretumu torowhānui system being independent from faith-based institutions such as ours.

We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure abuse and/or neglect never again occurs in a centre or service connected to The Salvation Army. To achieve this, The Salvation Army is particularly focused on delivering those recommendations that apply to faith-based entities that provide care. Namely, Recommendations 89–110, that ensure that any activities or services provided by the Army, comply with and consistently apply the Care Safety Principles, the National Care Safety Strategy, and all statutory requirements under the Care Safety Act.

We engage with and will continue to engage with survivors in an empathetic and compassionate manner. We also note we have already taken steps in implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations that apply to us and will continue this work. Having worked with the Royal Commission, we are committed to continuing to work with the Crown Response Unit.

An apology was made by Chief Secretary Colonel Gerry Walker at the Royal Commission Redress in Faith-Based Care Hearing on 10 Dec 2020. At the hearing, he said the following:

“There is no excuse for what happened. The lives that these children deserved were stolen from them. It is offensive that this was allowed to happen within an organisation that exists to serve a God of love.

“We recognise that words alone cannot heal what has been broken. We therefore want to assure survivors that The Salvation Army is fully committed to listening to them and learning from this Royal Commission.”

Our position has not changed. We are deeply grateful for, and commend, the bravery of all survivors who participated in the inquiry. They are at the forefront of our actions to address the repugnant actions of the past.

We remain committed to righting those wrongs and ensuring this harm caused by abuse and neglect does not happen again. The Army is actively addressing how the Royal Commission’s recommendations will be implemented in line with recommendation 131 of the Royal Commission’s final report.

The Salvation Army Territorial Media Officer, 021 945 337, email: media@salvationarmy.org.nz (The Media Officer responds to enquiries from media outlets and journalists. If you would like to donate, are in need of help, or have some other non-media-related enquiry, please call 0800 53 00 00.)