The Government's rapid payments to a small group of terminally ill Lake Alice hospital victims are being applauded across the survivor community, along with a call for the $20,000 payment to be extended to all who suffered abuse in care, regardless of where it took place.
A lawyer who represents a large group of survivors, Lydia Oosterhoff, said: “I think for the people who do qualify for it I think it’s fantastic, but I think for those who don't qualify it’s probably being let down by the state yet again."
Keith Wiffin, an advocate and survivor, added: “If I had a simple message for Government it would be, I applaud you for doing this, it is a good thing. But what about the rest of us?"
Many survivors don't have time on their side.
“We have had 35 clients pass away this year that had not settled their claims yet," Oosterhoff said.
Theresa Whiting’s mother Alison Parker died three years ago at the age of 67.
She was tortured and sexually assaulted in Lake Alice Hospital between the ages of four and 16.
“One predominant thing she made us understand about Lake Alice was just the terror of being there,” Whiting said.
She described it as a house of horrors.
“She was sexually assaulted in these locations and she also witnessed the terror of other children as they were dragged to where they used ECT (electroconvulsive therapy).
“She never recovered and someone decided that was worth less than $10,000 and now this Government is turning around and saying for those who are terminally ill we're just going to put a price of $20,000 on it. It’s not even a dollar a day.”
She wanted the Government to treat all of those who were abused to be treated equally.
“It’s not just about money, it’s the acknowledgement, it’s the acceptance that they were failed and they were failed so terribly."
Rapid payments
Advocates are calling for the same rapid payments to be rolled out to the entire survivor community, as an interim measure before full and final payments are confirmed.
“There are vast amounts of survivors out there who are also waiting, who have also been horrendously abused in other institutions and are dying off at an increasingly rapid rate,” Wiffin said.
The Government is also working on a further redress package for Lake Alice survivors to acknowledge the torture that took place there.
"Unfortunately in recent times we've seen the full payments slowly trickle downwards so we enlisted the help of an actuary and he estimated the cost to someone over a lifetime of abuse is around $600,000 to $900,000,” Oosterhoff said.
“What price do you put on the life and the lives of people who never recover and have never recovered from what they experienced,” Whiting said.
Survivor's plea for friend
It was a plea from a Lake Alice survivor, on behalf of his dying friend, that prompted the Government to make urgent payments to victims with terminal illnesses.
Bruce Harkness made his plea to Erica Stanford, the Minister responsible for the Government’s response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care.
He told Stanford on the day the Commission report was released: “I've got a friend that's a former survivor and he's in a terminally ill position, and she just said straight away 'I'll take care of it', which was quite impressive."
Stanford said she was "really honoured" to accelerate the payments to terminally ill Lake Alice survivors of torture.
"It's not a recommendation of the Royal Commission but the right thing to do is to make a payment to those who are at the end of their life."
Some of the group are already in hospice care and too ill to talk, but their fellow survivors said it will bring some relief.
“I think on his behalf, I can't speak fully for him, but from what I know of him, he appreciates the fact that he can go to and pay for his own burial," Harkness said.
Just the beginning
The Government assured the victims of torture and mistreatment at Lake Alice that the payments are just the beginning.
“It’s one of the first cases where a government has acknowledged the torture of people in their care, this is significant we take this very seriously which is why we're working closely with survivors to make sure we get the process right for this redress,” Stanford said.
The $20,000 rapid payment will be delivered through the Ministry of Health as it already operates a historic claims process for survivors of the unit.
“The only supporting material needed to apply for the payment would be a letter from a medical professional confirming a terminal diagnosis and prognosis of six months or less,” Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said.
But Stanford said that for survivors from institutions other than Lake Alice, arrangements already exist through the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Education. Those ministries can prioritise the claims of those who are terminally ill, she said.
"I would encourage any survivor of abuse in state care to consider making a claim with the appropriate agency if they have not already done so," Stanford said.
"The Government is prioritising decisions on improving redress for the wider group of survivors of abuse as part of the overall response to the Royal Commission’s reports and recommendations. There is a clear expectation that work will happen at pace."
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