O a matou Tagata

Afioga a Dame Silvia Cartwright

O Dame Silvia Cartwright na avea ma fa'amasino atoa ai ma se tagata fautua i le silia ma le 50 tausaga. I le tausaga e 1967, na fa'au'u ai o ia mai le Iunivesite a Otago i le fa'ailoga o le Bachelor of Laws ma galue ai i ni tausaga i kamupani loia, ae le'i aga'i o ia i galuega tau fa'amasinoga. O le 1989, na avea ai o ia ma ulua'i tama'ita'i Fa'amasino Sili o le Fa'amasinoga Fa'a Itumalo o Niu Sila ma i'u ai ina avea o ia ma tama'ita'i muamua na filifilia o se fa'amasino o le Fa'amasinoga Maualuga. Mai le 2001 e o'o i le 2006, na galue o ia o le Kovana-Sili lona 18 o Niu Sila; o le tama'ita'i lona lua lea ua ia umia lea tofiga.

O le tama'itai o Dame Silvia ua iai ona agava'a e ta'itai'ina ai su'esu'ega ua iloga lona fa'atinoga. I se taimi lata mai, na ia ta'itai'ina ai le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa o le 1988 o le Cartwright Inquiry e fa'atatau i togafitiga o le kanesa o le gutu o le fa'a'autagata i le Falema'i o Tama'ita'i i Aukilani ma le isi tofiga o le Ta'ita'ifono o le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa Fa'alaua'itele e fa'atatau i le Komisi o Mafui'e ma lo latou fa'atauta'ia o talosaga mo a'afiaga i mafui'e i Canterbury. O ia o se tagata finau mo avanoa tutusa, ma sa galue o ia i le Komiti e Tafi Esea le Fa'ailoga tagata aga'i i Tama'ita'i o Malo Aufa'atasi (CEDAW), ma sa tele lona sao i le tusia o le Optional Protocol aga'i i le tauaofa'iga a le CEDAW.

Mo lana tautua ia Niu Sila, na avea ai Dame Silvia ma Ta'ita'i Sili o Dame o le Order o le British Empire i le 1989, ma le Principal Companion o le New Zealand Order of Merit i le 2001 ma ia maua ai le fa'ailoga taualoa o le Queen's Service Order i le 2006. Mai le taimi a o avea o ia ma Kovana Sili o le Malo o Niu Sila, sa ia galue fo'i mo Malo Aufa'atasi mo ni tausaga o se tasi o fa'amasino e to'alua mai atu i fafo i le Fa'amasinoga o Soligatulafono o le Taua a Cambodia.

Frances Joychild

O Frances Joychild o se tagata faufautua agava'a ua silia ma le 25 tausaga o galue i totonu o fale fa'amasino ma fa'amasinoga ma e loloto lona silafia i mata'upu e aofia ai aia tatau a tagata soifua, fa'atamala male mautinoa fa'apolofesa, feusua'iga fai fa'amalosi ma le fa'apalopalo, ma sauaga ma le fa'ao'o manu'a.

O le tama'ita'i o Joychild sa tula'i o ia o se loia ta'ita'i i ni fa'amasinoga lavelave, e aofia ai lona tula'i mo le silia ile 300 o i latou na fa'asaoina mai i sauaga i Lake Alice i luma o le Komisi Su'esu'e Fa'apitoa fa'asaga i Sauaga a o Tausia i le 2001. Na ia tula'i mo le fa'alapotopotoga o le Child Poverty Action Group, ma tagata sulufa'i i mata'upu fa'ata'ita'i e aga'i i iloiloga fa'afa'amasinoga, talitonuga fa'alelotu ma le solia o le natura o fa'amasinoga tonu.

Mai le 2003 e o'o i le 2006 na galue le tama'ita'i o Joychild o se Komesina o Tulafono ma sa ia gafataulimaina le faia o lipoti i mata'upu e aofia ai le kilivaina o fa'amasinoga tonu, fa'alapotopotoga fa'aletulafono a Maoli, aia tatau a tagata Pasefika, toe fuata'ina o le fa'atinoga o faiga fa'avae o mea e fa'atino ae le'i faia o se fa'amasinoga ma malosi'aga fa'aleaganu'u. Sa ia galue fo'i o se Loia mo le Komisi o Aia Tatau ma sa avea ma Komesina o Taualumaga mai le 1993 e o'o i le 1997.

E agava'a le tama'ita'i o Joychild i le fa'atauta'ia o iloiloga ma su'esu'ega i mata'upu tuma'oti ma le malo, e aofia ai lona ta'ita'ia o le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa e fa'asaga i le Royal New Zealand Air Force. A o fa'agasolo le su'esu'ega, na ia su'esu'eina mata'upu e uiga i ni feusua'iga fai fa'amalosi le talafeagai a se satini i totonu o le RNZAF i le vaitau o le 1980, ma ia toe iloiloina ai ni faiga talafeagai e puipui ma taofia ai le toe tula'i mai o se fa'afitauli fa'apenei. Na ia ta'ita'ia fo'i le iloiloga aga'i i le Matagaluega o Galuega ma Totogi e fa'asaga i le fa'atinoga o le fa'ai'uga o le mata'upu a Ruka i le Fa'amasinoga o Apili i le 1997, e pei ona fa'atonuina e le Minista o Auaunaga Lautele.

Mike Wesley-Smith

O Mike o le fa'auluuluga o le ofisa mo galuega fa'atino a le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa.

O ia sa avea ma ta'ita'i i su'esu'ega a le Komisi Su'esu'e Fa'apitoa i Sauaga a o Tausia i le agaleagaina o le faitau selau o tamaiti ma talavou i le falema'i o Lake Alice Hospital.

Sa galue fo'i o se loia ma se tagata tusitala su'esu'e ma e telē lona agava'a e galulue ai ma tagata na fa'asaoina mai i sauaga matuia i totonu o nofoaga e tausia ai le soifua maloloina o tagata.

I le avea ai o ia ma fa'auluuluga o le ofisa e fa'atino ai galuega a le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa, o Mike na te pulea le fa'atinoga o galuega i aso ta'itasi a le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa.

Phillipa Mitchell

O Phillipa Mitchell o le tagata faigaluega fesoasoani i tulaga tau tulafono a le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa.

O Phillipa ua silia ma le 30 tausaga lona agava'a i mata'upu tau fa'amasinoga i tulafono ese'ese, ae matele i tulafono mo tagata sulufa'i ma tagata femalaga'i, peita'i e aofia ai ma aia tatau a tagata, galuega, meatotino tau le atamai, mata'upu mo tagata sivili, ae lata mai nei o tulafono tau aiga. O lo'o tepa taula'i le tama'ita'i e fa'aaoga ona agava'a mai le tele o tausaga e fesoasoani ai i le Su'esu'ega Fa'apitoa.

Chris Merrick

O Chris Merrick o se loia e fa'amautu i Aukilani.

O Chris o se loia sa tu mo le Malo, Loia mo tagata e Tete'e i Moli'aga, ma se tagata finau mo tupulaga talavou. Na ia umia tofiga e pei o le loia sa fesoasoani i le Komisi Su'esu'e Fa'apitoa i Sauaga a o Tausia ma sa avea ma sui Ta'ita'ifono o le Fa'amasinoga o Amio Pulea a Faia'oga. Na galue foi Chris i le toe teuteuina o tulafono e fa'atatau i mata'upu fa'aletulafono e a'afia ai tamaiti ma tupulaga talavou ma e masani ona fa'aulu ana teuteuga o tulafono e fai ma sui o le Sosaiete o Loia Maoli i Aotearoa, ma le Asosi a Loia Pasefika.

Rachel Wybourne-Curtin

Senior Wellness Navigator

Rachel is a Senior Registered Comprehensive Nurse with nursing role experiences nationally and internationally in clinical, managerial, advisory, community and education.

Rachel for over 2 years was in the Wellbeing team at the Royal Commission into Abuse in State and Faith Based Care.

Emma Finlayson-Davis

Emma Finlayson-Davis is a Barrister based in Auckland and shares the role of lead Inquiry lawyer with Chris Merrick.

Emma was a Crown Prosecutor for almost a decade before taking an extended break at home with her children before they started school. She returned to work as a defence lawyer working for the Public Defence Service in their Waitakere and Auckland offices. After some time at the independent bar, Emma was appointed as counsel assisting the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, a role she held for over two years.

Shelley Nisbet - Investigator 

Shelley was a police detective for more than 15 years, largely working in the field of child protection and adult sexual assault.  After leaving the police to work in the private sector she returned to the police to work with the families of the deceased, survivors, and witnesses of the Christchurch Mosque terror attacks in March 2019. 

For the last two years, she has been an investigator with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. Her role involved interviewing survivors and investigating the abuse of children and young people in various institutions between 1950 and 2000.

Karen Jones - Inquiry Lawyer

Karen is an experienced litigator who practises across New Zealand and Australia in a broad range of civil and regulatory litigation and investigations. She is currently a member of Kate Sheppard Chambers.

Her areas of practice include employment, discrimination, human rights and privacy. She has undertaken investigations for private institutes in response to complaints of discrimination, bullying, privacy breaches and whistle blower provisions, and provided policy advice to state government agencies, large corporations and tertiary education institutes. Prior to being called to the independent bar in 2014, Karen practised at a number of litigation firms specialising in employment, civil, and medico-legal litigation in Australia and New Zealand.

Jamie Leighton - Wellness Navigator

Jamie is a Registered Comprehensive Nurse with Post Graduate Studies in Mental Health. Jamie has worked in several intensive mental health settings including addiction, child and adolescents, and forensics over the past 11 years. He has managerial experience also within the mental health and addiction sector.

Rizpah Evans - Wellness Navigator

Ko Kapunipuni te maunga
Ko Waikanae te awa
Ko Te Uruhi toku whenua
Ko Puketapu Te hapu
Ko Rawiri Paroke Jenkins toku whaea Tupuna
Ko Ngati Awa ki Kapiti Te iwi
Ko Rizpah Evans ahau

Rizpah is a Comprehensive Registered Nurse in New Zealand and Australia, who has specialised in mental health nursing.  Nursing experience includes nursing on an acute psychiatric inpatient ward, GP liaison and community mental health roles.  More recently spent 3 years with the wellbeing team for the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith based Care.  I am currently based in Western Australia and work remotely for the Independent Dilworth Inquiry.

James Watson - Investigator

James was a Detective Sergeant in NZ Police for 28 years largely working in the field of child protection and adult sexual assault.

Since leaving the Police in 2019 James has been a senior investigator with the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions. His role involved interviewing survivors and investigating the abuse of children and young people in various institutions between 1950 and 2000.