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Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
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The Government has
apologised to all those who say they were abused at the army's former cadet
school but is not offering compensation -- telling victims to go to the
police. The apology was
tendered by Defence Minister Phil Goff yesterday as he released the findings
of High Court judge Justice Morris -- which concluded that while bullying
took place, there was no culture of violence at the school. The apology was
welcomed by former army sergeant Ian Fraser, who sparked the inquiry last
year when he wrote an article reporting that many cadets as young as 15 were
physically and sexually abused between the 1960s and 1980s. "I'm pretty happy
with the outcome. I'm ecstatic that the minister has made that apology and
for a lot of the blokes that will give them closure." Mr Fraser also welcomed
the recommendation that a
confidential mediation mechanism should be established so cadets who were
adversely affected could get some remedy without having to pursue matters
through the court system. However, he disagreed
with Justice Morris' main finding that there was no culture of violence. "We were there and
we were involved and it certainly felt like a systemic culture of violence
and the court of inquiry into the killing of Cadet Grant Bain in 1981 heard
evidence from cadets saying they had been kicked, beaten and abused," Mr
Fraser said. The report by Justice
Morris, who interviewed 81 former cadets, said the school, attended by 5000
cadets between 1948-91, was a "fertile ground for bullying".
Barrack room discipline was seriously flawed as it was enforced by senior
cadets. Beatings and kickings were fairly regular and other forms of bullying
and "bastardisation" included: * Forced showers during
which cadets were scrubbed with brooms. *
"Nuggeting", in which a cadet's penis and testicles were covered
with boot polish. * "Spooning",
in which a cadet's testicles were struck with a wooden spoon or tea towel. *
"Barrelling" -- cadets forced to run a gauntlet of fellow cadets
who were ordered to kick or punch them. Mr Goff said there was
nothing to support claims of a culture of violence. However, mistakes had
been made by authorities investigating the death of Cadet Bain, who was shot
in the barracks by Cadet Andrew Read. Justice Morris found
Read should have been charged with manslaughter rather than careless use of a
firearm but the decision was made by police and there had been no collusion
with the army. He also found further
charges should have been brought by the army against Read following its court
of inquiry into the death. Mr Goff said he had
sympathy for the Bain family and had written to them offering to discuss
steps to help provide closure for the family. However, others who
suffered serious sexual or physical abuse should lay a complaint with police
or the Defence Force. People who wanted to sue the Government could face
difficulty under the statute of limitations but people might be able to claim
under the ACC or the War Pension Act. NZ First MP Ron Mark,
who was a cadet at Waiouru in 1971, welcomed the report, but said many claims
made last year had been embellished. Defence chief Air
Marshal Bruce Ferguson said defence now had policies to prevent abuse and
strove to provide a safe environment and "I wish to assure families who
entrust their family members to us ... that we take this responsibility
seriously". |
