Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is being urged to reconsider cuts to a key service that has been supporting victims of the Christchurch terror attack.
The National leader was singled out in a letter written by Gamal Fouda, the imam of Christchurch’s Al Noor mosque, where dozens of people were killed in 2019.
Fouda claimed he personally raised issues with Luxon in two separate meetings in March, and left those discussions feeling that the PM was “sincerely attentive to our grievances”.
But Fouda said he was left in “profound shock” when, last week, the Ministry of Social Development terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks.
It provided specialist case managers for victims and bereaved families, who negotiated with various government departments on their behalf.
Fouda has now written to Luxon directly, saying he was “utterly dismayed”.
“The lack of transparency and communication surrounding this decision is not only disappointing but also deeply concerning,” he wrote. “It shows a lack of consideration for the survivors’ and their families’ continued hardships and obstacles in the wake of such a horrific incident.”
The imam, who survived the attack at Al Noor, added that failure to reconsider the decision and engage in open dialogue would amount to a “betrayal of trust”.
In response, Luxon said he had spent a lot of time with the families around the anniversary of the attacks this year.
“It was a very constructive set of conversations,” he said. “What we committed to was making sure that now five years down the road, one-size-fits-all isn’t the way to deal with the individual issues that people have. They actually can be quite variable and each of the cases are different. As a result, we’re making sure that there’s good case management in place to get people the support they need.”
Widow says service essential
But it was those changes to case management that was causing so much distress for one of the widows using the service.
Insha Aziz, who lost her husband in the attack, said the closure of Kaiwhakaoranga was “daunting” for her and her two children, aged five and seven.
“The grief and challenges of rebuilding our lives after a terrorist attack do not appear overnight, and ongoing support is necessary,” she said today.
The family would now have to re-live their trauma, she added, as without a central case manager, they would be forced to repeat their story again and again to different government agencies.
“It is very overwhelming to be in a position where you need to explain each year when they renew the application, why we still need financial assistance, why can we not work full-time, etc, which can be very energy-draining and capacity-limiting,” she said.
Asked whether his Government was committed to the victims this afternoon, Luxon promised there would be ongoing dialogue through local National MP and ACC Minister Matt Doocey.
“I will meet with them whenever I am in Christchurch and wherever I can as well,” he said.
Government ‘abandoning’ victims
The axing of Kaiwhakaoranga cames at the same time as support was reduced in other areas, leaving some to accuse the National-led Government of abandoning victims of the attack.
ACC had been providing financial help to spouses of those who died, but that support reached the end of its five-year expiry date earlier this year.
The Government has also indicated it was looking to make changes to Kāpuia, a Ministerial advisory group set up to help the response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack.
Lead Co-ordinating Minister Judith Collins confirmed today, in a statement: “Kāpuia, the Ministerial Advisory Group providing advice to the Government on the Royal Commission of Inquiry response, will wind up on 9 June 2024 as per its terms of reference.
“The group has provided invaluable advice to the Government on the response, adding a community-led perspective and I want to thank the members for their advice, insights and contributions over the past three years.
“We will continue to engage with representative groups and communities on the ongoing work to keep New Zealand safe and secure.”
Meanwhile, potential changes were also being considered for the Arms Act that could reintroduce semi-automatic firearms in some settings.
But the Kaiwhakaoranga closure was causing the deepest shock. Former Minister and current opposition MP Megan Woods believed the Government was walking away from the victims.
“There are people whose lives are still shattered, there are people with PTSD, people who are still struggling to get their lives back on track, and they still require the support of their fellow New Zealanders,” she said.
Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said the Government was still committed to the community. She said the Kaiwhakaoranga service had always been “time-limited” and its closure would not affect the actual financial support families were receiving.
“The need for this service has diminished over the past five years as those using it have accessed a range of government services,” she said.
Upston also claimed Kaiwhakaoranga was only funded by the previous government up to June 30, and this had already been communicated.
But Woods, who was involved in establishing the service, strongly denied this, saying the Labour government had renewed the funding on an annual basis. “What we’re seeing from the National Government, they’re making the choice not to fund it, this is their choice,” she said.
Debate around the support would continue, with meetings planned between some victims and National ministers later this week.