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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Attorney-General
Margaret Wilson says she is exploring ways for former psychiatric patients to
avoid court cases if they want to when they seek compensation for their abuse
claims. The historic
allegations surfaced earlier this year and cover claims of widespread
mistreatment at most of New Zealand's mental hospitals in the 1960s and
1970s. Ms Wilson said
yesterday that so far 68 individual claims had been filed in the High Court
and she understood more than 300 people had not yet filed. "We believe there
is much merit in exploring ideas that allow claimants and the Government to
resolve these claims other than through litigation," she said in a
statement. "At this stage the
Government is still talking to claimants and specific options have not been
finalised." Ms Wilson said any
option that allowed former patients and staff to air their grievances and
experiences in a place other than an open court was worthwhile considering. "Going to court is
always an option," she said. "It is, however, a
forum where liability and blame are attributed through adversarial means. "This may not be
appropriate or helpful for many former patients, staff, and their families.
We have to make sure we do the best thing for everyone concerned." Ms
Wilson said that while the idea of alternatives to litigation was being
explored, the Government had a public accountability not to pay out money on
claims unless it was established that there was a good reason to do so. A coalition of
psychiatric "survivor" groups called on Friday for a formal process
to hear the claims. Coalition spokeswoman
Helen Gilbert said New Zealand could adopt similar redress procedures to
those developed in Canada and Ireland. "What we are
looking for is a fair and just process to hear our stories and provide us
with appropriate compensation," she said. |
