Te Whakapāha nā Te Poumanaaki ki ngā mōrehu o te tūkino i te wā tiaki
Chief Archivist apology to survivors of abuse in care
Ka nui te pono o te whakapāha a Te Poumanaaki Anahera Morehu, mō ngā mahi a Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga (ko National Archives i mua) mō tana mūhore ki te aroturuki tika i ngā mahi pupuri mauhanga Kāwanatanga.
The Chief Archivist Anahera Morehu, sincerely apologises on behalf of Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand (previously the National Archives) for failing to effectively monitor Government recordkeeping
20 o Nōema 2024
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, nei rā te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.
I te Whakapāha ā-Motu i te 12 o Nōema, i whakapāha te Pirimia mō ngā tini āhuatanga mūhore a te Kāwanatanga. Ka tautoko au i ana kupu – ko ngā mauhanga, me te pupuri mauhanga tētahi wāhanga tūturu o aua mūhoretanga. Ka nui te pono o taku whakapāha mō ngā mūhoretanga a Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga (ko National Archives i mua) mō tana mūhore ki te aroturuki tika i ngā pupuri mauhanga Kāwanatanga. Kāore te National Archives i whakapau i ōna kaha ki te whakapai ake i ngā pupuri mauhanga a te Kāwanatanga, nā reira koinei taku aroha nui mō tērā. Nā te kore o te aroturukitanga, i whai wāhi ai ki ngā āpure o ngā mauhanga Tiaki, e kore rawa nei tātou e mōhio ki te nui o te hunga i wheako i te Tiakanga. Ka whakapāha au mō te kino i hua ake i te ngarohanga o ngā mauhanga me ngā mauhanga hukihuki ki a koutou ko ō whānau, ko ō koutou hapori hoki. Ka whakapāha au i te kore o National Archives i whakahaere tika i te putunga o ngā mauhanga Tiaki. Nā te kore aroturukitanga, kāore i tautuhia, i whakatikahia, i hāmenetia rānei te whiunga me te whakakorenga pokorenoa, hakirara hoki i ngā mauhanga. Kāore mātou i whakapau kaha ki te whakarite kia tiakina, kia rokirokitia hoki ngā mauhanga hei tautoko i ō koutou mōtika me ā koutou whiwhinga, kia wātea ai ēnei ki a koutou.
20 November 2024
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, nei rā te mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.
In the National Apology on November 12, the Prime Minister apologised for the many ways you were failed by the Government. I tautoko his words – records and recordkeeping were a very real part of those failures. I sincerely apologise on behalf of Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand (previously the National Archives) for failing to effectively monitor Government recordkeeping. The National Archives did not use its powers fully to improve Government recordkeeping and for that I am truly sorry. The lack of monitoring and oversight contributed to gaps in Care records which make it impossible to ever know the true numbers of those who experienced Care. I apologise for the harm that the loss of records and incomplete records has caused to you, your whānau and communities. I apologise that the National Archives did not exercise better control over the disposal of Care records. A lack of monitoring meant that when any wilful and negligent damage and destruction of records occurred, it was not always identified, addressed or penalised. We did not do enough to ensure that records to support your rights and entitlements were protected and preserved to be accessible for you over time.
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![A smiling woman wearing a green dress and a Māori cloak, wearing long earrings and glasses, standing in front of a wooden background]()
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Ko te tikanga ia o ngā pūranga me ngā mauhanga tūmatanui kia noho papanga tonu te kāwanatanga ki te iwi, āianei, ā, āke tonu atu. Hei Poumanaaki ki Te Rua Mahara, ko taku takohanga ka toro puta noa i te wā me ngā whakareanga. He taonga ngā mauhanga me ngā rokirokihanga ka mau i te wā i te Tiakina koutou, ā, ko te whakaatu atu a te Kōmihana a te Karauna, kāore i āta tiakina, i whakautetia rānei, ki tā rātou e tika ana. Nā runga i tēnei mōhiotanga, ka tuku au i ēnei kupu i te rā nei. He mana tō ngā mauhanga ki te tautoko i te tuakiri, te oranga me ngā mōtika o te tangata. He mana hoki tō ngā tikanga waihanga, pupuru, whakaputu me te whakawātea ki te tangata. Engari pērā ki ngā tūmomo mana katoa, ka taea te whakamahi hei tautoko i te tangata, hei patu rānei i te tangata, ā-mutunga kore nei.
Nā runga i tēnei kino, ka tukuna e au taku mihi ki te hunga i pā kinotia e ngā pūnaha Tiaki a Aotearoa, mō koutou i tuari mai ā koutou kōrero me ngā wheako ki te Kōmihana a te Karauna. Ngā mihi mō ā koutou whakakupu i ngā wheako mataora, mō te whakamārama i te āhua o te Tiakanga me tōna pānga ki a koutou. Ngā mihi mō koutou i whakamārama i te kino i pā ki a koutou i te tūkinotanga o ō koutou mōhiohio whaiaro, me te korenga o te whakaaetia kia āhei koutou ko ō koutou whānau ki ngā kōrero rā. He nui te kino i pā ki a koutou nā te kore e hopukina o ngā āhuatanga nui i pā ki a koutou, i te kore o tō koutou reo i rangona, i te kore o ō koutou hononga whānau, ahurea hoki i whakamanahia, i haukotia rānei. Ngā mihi mō koutou i whakamārama i ngā pānga ki a koutou me te mau tonu o aua wheako i tēnei rā, otirā kua whai wāhi ki tō koutou oranga me tērā o ō koutou whānau.
Ngā mihi mō te whakaatu mai ki a mātou o te whakaata a ngā rōpū whakahaere mauhanga me ngā kaipupuri mauhanga Tiaki i te tautika-kore me te kaikiri o ngā pūnaha me ngā tikanga whakahaere. Kāore e taea te karo i te pānga mauroa o ēnei tikanga, me te tūhura i ngā tōritenga i muru i ō koutou mōtika kia mōhio ko wai koutou, nō hea koutou, ā, me tō koutou nōhanga huānga. I kī mai koutou kāore ō koutou tuakiri ahurea motuhake i whakamanahia. Ka mihi au ki ngā mōrehu Māori i whakaatu i te whai wāhi o ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga ki te whakakorenga o ō koutou hononga whaitake ki te ahurea, te reo, te whānau, te hapū me te iwi, otirā he uaua te whakatātūtū i tō koutou whakapapa. Me mihi hoki au ki ngā mōrehu Pasifika, me tā koutou kī mai he huhua ngā mea i motu ngā hononga waiwai ki te ahurea, te reo me te hapori i te wā i hē te tuhi i ō koutou mātāwaka. Ka tukua atu taku aroha ki ngā mōrehu Turi, whaikaha hoki, i wehea ai koutou i ō koutou hapori me ngā ahurea, otirā i pākatihia ō koutou mōtika. Whakamahia ai ngā kupu hahani, whakatakē hoki i roto i ngā mauhanga hei whakamārama i a koutou. He wā anō ko te pānga kino katoa ko te wahangū o ngā kōrero i roto i ngā mauhanga; te wā kāore i hua ake he mauhanga, kāore i tuhia ō kōutou pūrongo tūkino, ā, i takaroatia ai te kino i pā ki a koutou.
He pānga mauroa tō te ngoikore o ngā tukanga pupuri mauhanga. Nā te kore i whaiwhai haere i ngā amuamu tūkino, kāore ētahi o ngā kaihara i aukatihia. Konei ētahi noa o ngā huarahi i mūhore ai ngā mauhanga, ngā kaipupuri mauhanga, ā, me te hunga e tika ana kia waihangahia me te pupuru i aua mauhanga nō te wā e Tiakina ana koe. Ka tūtohu au i te pānga moroki me te kino o ēnei mūhore ā-nahanaha o te pupuri mauhanga ki a koutou ko tō koutou whānau.
I whakaatu ō koutou taunakitanga i ngā mūhoretanga nui i ngā wāhanga katoa o te tikanga pupuri mauhanga Tiaki. Ko tā ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga mahi, he tiaki kē i ngā hiahia o ngā whakahaere i te tuatahi, kāore rawa i whai whakaaro ki te pānga o te hunga mō rātou te mauhanga – arā, ko koutou.
Nā ō koutou wheakotanga i tahuri ai a Te Rua Mahara ki te titiro anō ki tōna ake āhua, ki te whakaata he aha tā mātou tūranga i mua, ā, me te tikanga kē ake o ā matou mahi, ki te whai whakaaro he aha he huarahi whakapai ake. Nā koutou i whakaara ake i te hira o te pupuri mauhanga ki te tūoho o ia rā o te motu. Kāore i tino whai whakaarotia te uara me te mana o ngā mauhanga, kia hē rā anō tētahi mea, kia kino rawa atu te pānga o te kino ki te tangata, kia tahuri kau katoa tō tātou oranga, ka tīmata tātou ki te kite i te hira o ngā mauhanga ki ā tātou mahi o ia rā.
Ko te mahi a National Archives ki te pupuri i ngā mauhanga kāwanatanga i te roanga o te hōkaitanga o te Uiui, koia ka whakaatu i ngā tepenga o te 1957 Archives Act. I whakahoutia tēnei ture i te 2005 ki te Public Records Act. Ko tētahi o ngā tikanga o te Ture he whakarite ake, kia noho papanga te Kāwanatanga mō āna mahi me āna whakataunga, mā roto i tētahi takohanga ā-ture ki te waihanga me te pupuru i ngā mauhanga nui, tika hoki. Tūturu, nā te Ture rā i whai mana ai a Te Rua Mahara ki te whakawaeture me te whakarite paerewa o ngā pupuri mauhanga kāwanatanga kounga.
Ahakoa ēnei mana, he pōturi tonu te kokenga whakamau ki te whakapai ake i ngā pupuri mauhanga Tiaki. Kei te mōhio hoki mātou i ā mātou tātaritanga, he pōturi rawa ngā whakapainga ki ngā pupuri mauhanga kāwanatanga. He ōrite tēnei mōhiotanga ki ērā i wheakotia e koutou i ngā mūhoretanga pupuri mauhanga Tiaki – ārā, me whai urupare ā-nahanaha hei tautoko i te whakapainga whaihua o ngā pupuri mauhanga. Koinei mātou e rapu nei i ētahi whakahoutanga ki te Public Records Act hei wāhanga o te Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Bill, i whakatakotoria e te Pirimia i te 12 o Nōema. He hātepe hira ngā whakahoutanga hei whakapakari i ngā mana o Te Rua Mahara ki te aroturuki i ngā pupuri mauhanga kāwanatanga, me te whaiwhai ake i ngā take ka pupū ake.
Ka tautoko au i ngā tūtohu a te Kōmihana e karanga nei kia whakapaihia ake ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga Tiaki. Ko tā Te Rua Mahara he whakautu i taua karanga. Ko tā mātou whakautu ki ngā tūtohu e aro ana ki te hanga tikanga whakapū ā-tangata ki ngā mauhanga me te pupuri mauhanga e whakaata ana i tā koutou i kī ai he aha ngā mea hira ki a koutou: kia pai ake ai te āheinga ki ā koutou mauhanga Tiaki; kia pai ake ai ngā ture ki te aukati i te ngaronga o ngā mauhanga whai kiko; ā, me ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga pai ake hei tiaki i ō koutou mōtika me ā koutou whiwhinga.
Hei āwhina i a mātou ki te whakamahere i ngā whakapainga haere tonu, i puta taku tono kia rua ngā pūrongo hei tuhi: tētahi e titiro ana ki te mārama o te āhua o te whakahaere me te tino rangatiratanga o ngā raraunga Māori me ngā mātāpono o Te Tiriti o Waitangi, me te whai pānga hoki ki te pupuri mauhanga Tiaki; ko te mea tuarua e titiro ana ki ngā mūhoretanga pupuri mauhanga i tautuhia e te Uiui, me ngā tūtohu ki te āhua o te whakatau a Te Rua Mahara i ēnei.
Koinei te tīmatanga. He nui kē atu ngā mahi hei mahi mā mātou. Kei te mahi mātou ki te tauārai i te pānga o ngā mūhoretanga ki te pupuri mauhanga Tiaki i muri nei, mā roto i ā mātou urupare i te wā nei, me ngā mahi e whanga tonu mai ana. E ū ana a Te Rua Mahara ki te kōkiri i ngā whakapainga o te pupuri mauhanga puta noa i te rāngai tūmatanui. Hei ngā marama e tū mai nei, ka arotake ahau i ngā tūtohu o ngā pūrongo e rua nāku i kōkiri, me te waihanga i tētahi mahere mahi hei whakapai ake i tō mātou āheinga. He tuatini te pupuri mauhanga, otirā e toitū ai ngā whakapainga, me huri hoki ngā ahurea mōhiohio o te hunga e waihanga ana, e pupuri ana hoki i ngā mauhanga Tiaki. Ka tauroa te noho a Te Rua Mahara i tēnei ara.
Ko taku kōrero i mua, ko te āhua o taku tūranga, ka toro haere i te wā. Kei roto i te whakataukī nei a "Ka mua, ka muri" te whakaaro o te ako i ngā mahi o mua, ka takahi i te ara o ngā tīpuna me te kawe i te mātauranga hei hononga pūmau e here ana i te onamata, te inamata me te anamata. Ko taku takohanga he tiaki i ēnei mauhanga e tohu nei i aua hononga. Ko taku kupu ki a koutou ināianei: Ka maumahara tātou ki ō koutou wheako me ngā mūhoretanga o ngā mauhanga me ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga; ka maumahara kia pēhea nei ia te nui ake me te pai ake o te mahi e tika ana hei mahi mā Te Rua Mahara i mua. Ka whakamōhio ēnei maumaharatanga i ngā huarahi hei whakapai ake i ā mātou tikanga ki Te Rua Mahara, te whakapai ake i ngā utauta waeture me te pēheatanga hoki o te whakamahi hei kōkiri i ngā whakapainga whaitake ki ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga puta noa i te Kāwanatanga. Ka pāorooro te waihotanga iho o te kino i hua ake i ngā pupuri mauhanga ki a koutou, hei korihi pūmau e ārahi ana i ā mātou mahi.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, erangi he toa takimano.
Tīkina ake te kōnae oro o te whakapāha a Te Poumanaaki (MP4 1.18MB)
Public archives and records exist so that people can hold governments to account now and in the future. As Poumanaaki Chief Archivist at Te Rua Mahara, my duty stretches across time and generations. The records and archives that document your time in Care are taonga and the Royal Commission of Inquiry has shown that these taonga were not met with the care and respect they were due. It is with this understanding that I deliver these words today. Records have power to support people’s identity, wellbeing and rights. The practices through which they are created, maintained, disposed and made accessible also have power. However, as with all powers these can be used in ways that support people or they can cause and contribute immeasurable harm.
It is with this harm in mind that I wish to thank those who have been affected by Aotearoa New Zealand systems of Care for generously sharing your stories and experiences to the Royal Commission. Thank you for speaking to your lived experiences, for explaining what Care looked and felt like. Thank you for describing the harm you suffered when your personal information was misused, and access was denied to you and your whānau. We see the great harm that was done to you when significant events were not recorded, when your voice was ignored, when connections to your whānau and cultures were not recognised or were severed. Thank you for explaining the effects on you then and how the experiences have stayed with you and shaped your lives and those of your whānau.
Thank you for showing us how the records and recordkeeping of Care organisations reflected systems and practices that were inequitable and oftentimes racist. The lasting impacts of these practices are undeniable and reveal power imbalances that stripped you of your rights to know who you were, where you came from and that you belonged. You told us how your unique cultural identities were not recognised. I mihi to the Māori survivors, you shared how recordkeeping practices contributed to your loss of meaningful connections to culture, language, whānau, hapū and iwi, making it hard to establish your whakapapa. I also want to acknowledge the Pacific survivors, many of you shared how you lost vital connections to culture, language and community, when your ethnicities were inaccurately recorded. My thoughts and aroha to the Deaf and disabled survivors, you were often separated from your communities and cultures and deprived of your rights. Offensive and degrading terms were often used within records to describe you. Sometimes it was the silences in the records that caused the most harm; the times when records were not created, when your reports of abuse were not captured, and your suffering was prolonged.
Poor recordkeeping processes have enduring effects. Failures to act on complaints of abuse meant that perpetrators were not stopped. These are just some of the ways that records, recordkeeping and those responsible for creating and maintaining records of your time in Care failed you. I acknowledge the ongoing impact and harm these systemic failings of recordkeeping cause you and those close to you.
Your evidence revealed serious failings in every area of Care recordkeeping practice. Records and recordkeeping practices served the needs of organisations first and foremost, without thought or care for the impact on those at the heart of the record – you.
Your experiences have compelled Te Rua Mahara to look hard in the mirror, to reflect on what our role has been and what it should have been, to consider how we have let you down and how we can do better. You have raised the importance of recordkeeping to the daily consciousness of the nation. The value and power of records is often not considered, it is only when something goes wrong, where the impact on people is so severe and life-changing that we begin to recognise the importance that records have within our lives.
The role that the National Archives played in government recordkeeping over the period of the Inquiry’s scope reflected the limitations of the1957 Archives Act. This legislation was replaced in 2005 with the Public Records Act. One of the purposes of the Act was to establish that the Government can be held accountable for its mahi and decision-making through a legal duty to create and maintain full and accurate records. Importantly, the Act also gave Te Rua Mahara new powers to regulate and set standards for good government recordkeeping.
Even with these powers, progress to improve Care recordkeeping has been slow. We know from the audits we commission that improvements to government recordkeeping are not happening fast enough. This knowledge matches what your experiences of Care recordkeeping failures showed us - that system-level responses are needed to support meaningful recordkeeping improvement. That is why we are seeking amendments to the Public Records Act as part of the Responding to Abuse in Care Legislation Amendment Billintroduced by the Prime Minister on November 12. The amendments are an important step to strengthen the powers of Te Rua Mahara to monitor government recordkeeping and to act when an issue is identified.
I tautoko the Commission’s recommendations which call for improvement to the ways Care recordkeeping is practiced. Te Rua Mahara is answering that call. Our response to the recommendations is focused on building people-centred approaches to records and recordkeeping that reflect what you have said is important to you: better access to your Care records; better rules to prevent loss of valuable records; and better recordkeeping practices that protect your rights and entitlements.
To help us plan further improvements, I commissioned two reports: one looks at how Māori data governance and sovereignty and Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles can be understood and applied to Care recordkeeping; the second looks at recordkeeping failings identified by the Inquiry and recommends how Te Rua Mahara can address them.
This is the beginning. There is much more to be done. We are working to prevent failures in Care recordkeeping from happening in the future, both through the responses we have made to date and through the actions that are to come. Te Rua Mahara is committed to driving improvements in recordkeeping across the public sector. Over the coming months, I will review the recommendations from the two reports I have commissioned and develop an action plan to improve our capability. Recordkeeping is complex, and sustainable improvement requires changes in the information cultures of those creating and maintaining Care records. Te Rua Mahara is here for the long haul.
I said earlier that my role has a duty that stretches across time. The whakataukī "Ka mua, ka muri" carries with it the idea that we will learn from the past, that we will walk in the footsteps of our tupuna and carry that knowledge as constant connections that exist between the past, the present and the future. It is my duty to protect those records which represent those connections. So, I say to you now: we will remember your experiences and how records and recordkeeping practices failed you; we will remember how Te Rua Mahara could have done more, could have done better. These memories will inform the ways that we improve our practices at Te Rua Mahara, how we will improve our regulatory tools and how we will use them to drive meaningful improvements to recordkeeping practices across Government. The legacy of the harm records and recordkeeping have caused you will echo as a constant refrain guiding our actions.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, erangi he toa takimano.
Download audio file for Poumanaaki Chief Archivist's apology (MP4 1.18MB)
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Text description for Poumanaaki Chief Archivist audio
Whakamārama ā-tuhi o te kōnae oro o te whakapāha a Te Poumanaaki
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangatanga maha, tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou katoa.
Nei rā te tino mihi ki a koutou ngā mōrehu o te kaupapa nei. Nō koutou te take, mō mātou te aroha, nō reira, kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana. Tēnā koutou katoa.
I tēnei rā, hei Poumanaaki, ka tuku au i tētahi whakapāha ki ngā mōrehu o te tūkino i te wā tiaki, mai i Te Rua Mahara o Te Kāwanatanga, i mōhiotia ko National Archives i mua. Nō te roanga o te Kōmihana Uiui a te Karauna mō ngā Tūkinotanga i te Wā Tiaki, i kite, i rongo hoki i ngā kōrero a ngā mōrehu tokomaha, i te āhua o te mūhore a te mahi pupuri mauhanga Tautiaki. I pā ēnei mūhoretanga i ngā wāhanga katoa o te mahi pupuri mauhanga, tae atu ki ngā wāhi i noho haepapa ai a National Archives ki te tiaki i ngā mauhanga hira. He taonga ngā mauhanga Tautiaki, otirā ko te tikanga kē me whakahaere anō i runga i te uara o ngā kupu a ngā tūpuna. I ako ai mātou i te pānga o ngā mūhore pupuri mauhanga, otirā ko te rite ki te pānga o te tūkino, kei mauroa te mamae puta noa i ngā reanga maha, mō koutou ko ō whānau.
Nā reira i tēnei rā, te 20 o Nōema, ka tuku au i taku whakapāha ki a koutou. Ka tohu tēnei rā i te huringatau o te Kawenata mō ngā Mōtika Tamariki a Te Kotahitanga o ngā Iwi o te Ao i waitohutia i te 1989. I kōwhiria e au tēnei rā hei whakaata i taku whakapono ko ngā mōtika o te pupuri mauhanga, he mōtika tangata hira hei tautiaki, hei whakamaru. Ka whai reo te tangata i ngā mauhanga; ka whakamana, ka mau hoki i tō tātou whai wāhi ki te porihanga. Me mahi tahi a Te Rua Mahara ki ngā tari ki te whakapai ake i ngā tikanga pupuri mauhanga āianei, ā, āke tonu atu, hei tiaki i ō mōtika.
Kua tawhiti kē tō tātou haerenga mai, kia kore e haere tonu. He nui rawa te mahi, kia kore e mahi tonu. Kia ora mai rā.
Text description for Poumanaaki Chief Archivist audio
To the authorities, the voices and the myriads, I acknowledge you all.
Our deepest respect to the survivors of this journey. We empathise with you with respect to this issue, may calm and peace be widespread, like the tranquility of the ocean. Thank you all.
Today, as Poumanaaki Chief Archivist, I offer an apology to survivors of abuse in Care on behalf of Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga Archives New Zealand, previously known as the National Archives. Over the course of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, we saw and heard from many survivors how Care recordkeeping had failed them. The failings occurred in every aspect of recordkeeping, including areas where the National Archives had a responsibility to make sure important records were protected and retained. Care records are taonga and should have been treated according to the words of tupuna and the value they hold. We learned the impacts of the recordkeeping failings and how, like the impacts of abuse, the hurt could span generations for you and your whānau.
So, on this day, November 20, I offer my apology to you. This date marks the anniversary of when the Convention on the Rights of the Child was opened by the United Nations for signature in 1989. I chose this date to reflect my belief that rights in recordkeeping are an important human right that deserves care and protection. Records give voice; they enable and document our participation in society. Te Rua Mahara must work with agencies to improve recordkeeping practices now and into the future to ensure that your rights and entitlements are protected.
We have come too far to not strive more. We have done too much to not do more. Thank you all.
Ngā putanga rerekē o te whakapāha a Te Poumanaaki
Alternate formats for the Chief Archivist’s apology
Ka whakaratoa e mātou ētahi putanga rerekē o te whakapāha a Te Poumanaaki i raro. Ka tāpiritia ētahi atu momo putanga kia tae mai ai i ngā kaiwhakarato rāwaho.
Tēnā whakapā mai mēnā he raruraru tāu o te kuhu ki tētahi o ngā momo putanga rerekē.
We're providing the Chief Archivist’s apology in various alternate formats below. We'll add additional formats as we receive them from our external providers.
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