Design Group pānui Issue 1
Pānui from Design Group
5 September 2023
Kia ora koutou,
Welcome to the first update from the Design Group members about our work on developing high-level proposals for the independent redress system. We are pleased to provide an update on what we have been doing over the last couple of months.
Since our pōwhiri at Waiwhetū Marae on Monday 19 June we have been meeting regularly. These meetings have been a mixture of face-to-face in Wellington and online.
The Government has provided us with a terms of reference(external link) that describes the areas we need to focus on:
- We have been providing feedback on the proposed purpose, functions, principles, and scope parameters for the new redress system. We have been reviewing what was recommended by the Royal Commission and considering what was agreed in principle by Cabinet. For example, with the scope, Cabinet agreed in principle that a new redress system include survivors from non-State care (such as faith-based institutions and private schools).
- We have been figuring out how the system can safely connect with and support survivors and whānau to navigate their redress journey – how redress needs to “look and feel” to give survivors confidence in the redress system and to provide them with a safe, accessible, trauma informed, and culturally responsive redress experience.
- We are looking at the types and mix of services and supports that should ideally be provided as part of each of the redress system’s functions. For example, providing access to support services, financial payments and other measures that enable te mana tāngata.
- We are providing feedback on apology and payment frameworks, and any draft redress models. We have been focusing on what is needed to support meaningful recognition of the harms people have experienced.
- We are working on providing an outline of the critical issues that will need to be considered as part of the detailed design and implementation planning in order to bring our high-level design proposal to life.
We have been working through each of the areas and where required we have been breaking off into smaller groups before returning to the rest of the group to discuss. We have been working closely with the Advisory Group who represent the wider survivor community. They have been checking our work, especially our thinking about the different survivor communities and the range of feedback they can provide to our work.
Signed
Design Group members
Ruth Jones, Dr Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll, Dr Filipo Katavake-McGrath, Māhera Maihi, Tyrone Marks, Te Pare Meihana, Bernie O’Donnell, Dr Michael Roguski, Tupua Urlich, Keith Wiffin, Dr Steve Winter.