Survivors of Lake Alice Hospital Receive Compensation Payments

Thirty-seven former patients of the Lake Alice psychiatric hospital’s child and adolescent unit have received compensation payments, some reaching as high as $600,000. This development follows the government’s announcement of a redress scheme aimed at addressing the severe trauma experienced by children and teenagers subjected to electric shocks and paralysing drugs without anaesthetic during their time at the unit in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in the 1970s.

The scheme, introduced last year, has seen a total of 105 survivors opt for rapid payments of $150,000 each, while the remaining 37 negotiated their compensation amounts. These negotiations were overseen by independent arbiter, Paul Davison, KC, a former High Court judge, who released a summary of his findings on Thursday. Most survivors received payments ranging from $175,000 to $250,000, with total compensation amounts varying from $160,000 to $600,000, all within a fiscal envelope of $8.39 million.

According to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, many of the 362 children who passed through the Rangitīkei unit did not have any mental illness, yet were subjected to inhumane treatments. The unit’s lead psychiatrist, Dr. Selwyn Leeks, relocated to Australia shortly after the facility closed in the late 1970s and passed away in 2022 without facing any legal repercussions.

In his report, Davison highlighted the immense courage displayed by survivors in negotiating their compensation. He stated, “Recalling traumatic events and recounting them for the purposes of the torture redress assessment process has been acutely painful and difficult and serves to underscore how deeply traumatic their time at Lake Alice was for them.” He further noted that, in determining compensation amounts, he considered additional factors such as solitary confinement and instances of sexual abuse experienced by survivors.

Most survivors were aged 12 or older upon admission, with some as young as 9 years old when subjected to electric shocks without anaesthetic. Davison adopted a “survivor-focused and trauma-informed approach,” generally accepting survivors’ accounts while also examining available records and previous statements. “The survivors quite understandably see their lives as having been blighted by their Lake Alice experiences and how they were ill-treated and tortured,” he remarked.

Erica Stanford, the lead coordination minister for the government’s response to the Royal Commission, emphasized the importance of providing survivors with a choice between negotiation and rapid payments. “We know no amount of money can ever undo or fully recognize the harm and abuse survivors were subjected to,” she stated. Stanford also highlighted that no previous government had acknowledged or apologized for the torture that occurred at Lake Alice.

In July 2022, the government officially recognized that torture had taken place at the Lake Alice unit, as defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture. A specific redress scheme was subsequently established in December to express regret for the many failures experienced by survivors. Alongside financial compensation, survivors have also received individual apologies and necessary support services.

This initiative marks a significant step towards addressing the historical injustices faced by these individuals, with many expressing a desire for acknowledgment and accountability regarding their traumatic experiences.