Minister won’t rule out closing Gloriavale amid ‘horrendous’ abuse claims

| NZ Herald | Michael Morrah |

A senior government minister has not ruled out closing Gloriavale, saying revelations in the Herald about a child disciplinary technique – likened to suffocation – are “horrendous”.

It comes as the Herald has discovered authorities are currently visiting Gloriavale “multiple” times a week and a new high-powered “multi-ministers” group has been set up to respond to ongoing issues at the West Coast commune.

Briefings from August this year obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act show 10 ministers are part of the group, which was quietly established after the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care issued its final report and recommendations.

Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston has been appointed the group’s lead minister.

The Commission’s recommendation on Gloriavale said the Government should take “all practicable steps” to ensure the safety of children, young people, and adults at Gloriavale – a recommendation Upston said the Government had accepted.

“That is why we have now approached this recommendation as a group of ministers to ensure that we have a close eye [on Gloriavale] and that agencies are sharing information to ensure that we have a much more joined-up response,” she said.

Earlier this month, the Herald revealed former Gloriavale resident Virginia Courage helped resuscitate a baby after the infant’s father allegedly blocked the baby’s airways to prevent it from crying.

During public hearings, the Commission heard evidence that Gloriavale’s parents were taught to cover the mouths and noses of babies and children as a form of discipline because founder Hopeful Christian “hated” the sound of crying children.

Courage said she was “horrified” when she and other parents were encouraged to use the technique during a married couples meeting at Gloriavale in 2014.

Barrister Brian Henry likened it to “suffocation” – a practice he believed was used to break the will of infants and children.

Breaking the will of young people was a tactic specifically encouraged by Christian who sent his community a letter about it while in jail for sex offending.

Upston was not aware of the hand-over-mouth technique – nor of Courage’s experiences while living at the commune – until the Herald broke the story.

Upston‘s office then contacted the Herald to relay how “extremely concerned” she was to learn of the disciplinary method.

“That is absolutely horrendous, and that was the first I was made aware of that,” she told the Herald.

Upston said there was an “evolving situation” at Gloriavale and it was being taken “very, very seriously”.

She said officials from government agencies including police, Oranga Tamariki and Health New Zealand are now visiting regularly.

“I’m not going to rule anything in or out” Minister Louise Upston

“This is all about the safety of children, so there are multiple agencies on the ground, and some of them are visiting multiple times a week,” she said.

Asked whether she could rule out authorities taking action to close Gloriavale, Upston suggested all options are on the table.

“I’m not going to rule anything in or out,” she said.

Upston wouldn’t say if she’d been provided any advice on options to shut the community in the interests of protecting young people.

“We’re working through a number of issues, but what I’m not going to do is predetermine any outcomes.”

In a statement to the Herald, a Gloriavale spokesman said the hand-over-mouth method was no longer taught or practised and that safe parenting programmes had been “progressively embedded” in the community since 2016.

“The members of the Gloriavale community uphold the national expectations of safety for children in New Zealand,” the spokesman said.

Gloriavale’s former leader or Overseeing Shepherd, Howard Temple resigned in August after being convicted of sexual offending against girls and women.

Stephen Standfast has been appointed the community’s new leader – a person Upston said she wanted to meet in person.

“I want to meet the leadership” Minister Louise Upston

She said she’d spoken to West Coast public service lead Craig Churchill about visiting the commune.

“I have said that I want to visit, I want to meet the leadership, and my plan is to do that early in the new year,” she told the Herald.

Upston also expressed concerns about Gloriavale’s private school which failed back-to-back educational audits and now faces the prospect of being stripped of its ability to operate.

An Education Review Office (ERO) review from late last year found issues with staffing and student safety at Gloriavale Christian School.

Gloriavale has until November 7 to respond to the issues or its registration as a private school could be cancelled.

Upston said the ministerial group she leads was waiting for more information about the situation at the school.

“The first priority is the safety of the children there. We must do this in a careful and considered manner,” she said.