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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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Reports of violence and
abuse at Waiouru Cadet School from the 1960s to 1980s were no different to
accounts coming out of New Zealand's boarding schools at the time, New
Zealand First MP Ron Mark says. A report by former army
communications officer Ian Fraser says there was widespread "physical,
psychological and sexual abuse" of cadets at the Waiouru Army school. Mr Mark, who entered
the school at the age of 16, said people get threatened in any organisation. Although he heard talk
of violence, he never suffered any physical abuse, he told National Radio
today. "I had a lot mates
in the Wairarapa who went to boarding schools. I can say the same stories
that were touted around about regular force cadet schools were the same
stories coming out of many of the nation's boarding schools at the time. "In that respect I
would have thought what was happening in regular force cadets was no
different," Mr Mark said. Teamwork and commitment
within a cadet platoon created a bond between the men, he said. "If you had a
strong section, if your unity within your platoon was rock solid, as mine
was, a lot of those things that were talked about never ever came your
way." The cadet school was
set up in 1948 after World War 2 by men returning from the "carnage
" of battle, Mr Mark said. "Many of those men
realised that New Zealand went into World War 2 totally ill-prepared, we had
no leaders and we suffered the casualties and the consequences of it." The army established
the cadet school to produce officers to ensure it would not be short of
leaders in the future. "You were there
not just to be trained to be a soldier, but to be trained to be a leader in
the army. You became part of what was considered to be a bit of an elite
unit." Many of the cadet's
graduates became army leaders, he said. "A number went on
to diplomatic careers after that and all over the world many of these men are
highly sought after by the United Nations, for peacekeeping roles, and by the
Red Cross." Cadet graduates had
fought in hotspots around the world including Malaya, Korea and Vietnam and
many became Special Air Service officers. Mr Mark said he would
"take some issue" with Mr Fraser's report because, although he
didn't remember him, he was also at the school in 1971 and did not see the
scale of abuse he claimed occurred. "He seems to have
dragged together a whole bunch of incidents over a range of 40 years and
bought them together with the impression they happened in his year and I
think that's a little inconsistent with actuality." The most devastating
thing Mr Mark said he saw was one person being given the "silent
treatment", which saw him ostracised and reduced to tears, he said. "It only lasted a
matter of days and the boy sorted himself out." However, it was
"probably essential" that an inquiry be conducted because the names
of some outstanding men would be besmirched by the actions of a few, Mr Mark
said. "But when you get
an inquiry motivated by people who see it as a cash cow and an opportunity to
create another gravy train, and would have everyone believe that $20,000
would make their nightmares go away, I have reservations about them," he
said. |
