I.           The Order’s Oceania province currently has 12 brothers in ministry, with four in Australia and eight in Papua New Guinea. Despite the high rates of abuse and neglect in both Aotearoa New Zealand described in this report and those revealed in Australia, the Order’s presence and conduct in Papua New Guinea has yet to be examined.

II.          The worst possible abuse and neglect was inflicted on tamariki and rangatahi at the hands of the brothers of the Order of St John of God at Marylands School and Hebron Trust. Survivors, their whānau and support networks, and the whānau and friends of those who did not survive have waited decades for an opportunity to reveal the full story of what happended at the hands of the Order, the church and the State and the abuse and neglect that was endured. Tamaraki and rangatahi who attended these places were utterly defenceless against institutional power, influence and indifference.

III.        We have completed our inquiry. As we have already acknowledged, the full extent of abuse will never be known. In this report we find that both the State and the Catholic Church must bear responsibility for the tūkino which has impacted the lives of so many survivors and their whānau and support networks.

IV.       The State registered and financially supported Marylands School. It did not ensure that adequate education or safeguarding was provided for the tamariki who went there. The result was abuse, neglect and deprivation of their human rights. The State registered Hebron Trust and State agencies referred rangatahi at risk to Hebron without monitoring or safeguarding them. The State failed to ensure the care provided at both Marylands and Hebron was consistent with the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi or that the Order was made accountable for the abuse it inflicted.

V.         The Catholic Church and the Order established Marylands and Hebron to offer care and support for tamariki and rangatahi but did not safeguard those tamariki and rangatahi in their care or provide them with support, learning or understanding of te ao Māori. The brothers caused immeasurable harm to many children and young people, actively sought to evade accountability and did not consistently provide the support and healing that those in their care deserved.

VI.       Brother Timothy Graham made a public apology to survivors during the Marylands hearing in 2022, but we’ve been told by survivors a few felt that this lacked any meaningful acknowledgement or acceptance of responsibility for the harm done to them.

VII.      This report documents how some individual abusers from the Order were convicted of a relatively small number of the hundreds of potential offences revealed to us by survivors or their whānau. But this is not a story about ‘bad apples’. This report highlights that the Catholic Church, the Order and State must each bear responsibility for the tūkino that was suffered by so many children and young people, the impacts on their lives, and their whānau and their support networks, because it was the Catholic Church, and State systems and institutions, that shamefully enabled the abuse and neglect, ignored it or covered it up. This report is a raw example of our care systems failing our tamariki and rangatahi. It is also an example of those with power – the Order, the Church and the State – failing to put in place adequate systems and processes to oversee and monitor the care and support being provided and to safeguard our most vulnerable from prolific abusers.

VIII.     The Order, Church and State have not yet been held accountable for the magnitude of the tragedy that unfolded at Marylands and Hebron Trust, or for failing to address that tragedy. Without accountability there can be no confidence that such events will not be able to occur again. What we found here reinforces our view that the puretumu torowhānui, holistic redress, system and scheme that we recommended in our December 2021 report must be applied to both State and faith-based institutions.

IX.        The findings in this report are a reflection of broader systemic issues that we will address in our Final Report in which we will make recommendations for change.

X.         Aotearoa New Zealand must heed the calls for accountability and justice. We must enable a restoration of mana, and for healing to occur. Fundamental changes will be required if we are to ensure that such horrific harm and the repugnant abuse, neglect and exploitation of tamariki and rangatahi does not happen again. Such change will assist Aotearoa New Zealand to become a socially cohesive and inclusive society where whānau are supported to thrive, be healthy and safe, have a sense of whanaungatanga, belonging and are respected.