Gloriavale leaver launches High Court civil proceedings against leaders

Wednesday, 23 September 2020

Former Gloriavale members John Ready, James Harrison and Virginia Courage outside the High Court at Greymouth, where they filed their civil action.

A former Gloriavale member is taking legal action against the West Coast Christian community, accusing leaders of “dereliction of duty” towards their followers.

John Ready filed civil proceedings in the High Court at Greymouth on Wednesday seeking the removal of the trustees that govern Gloriavale for poor conduct, mismanagement and dereliction of duty.

A group of former members, including James Harrison and Virginia Courage, gathered outside the court on Wednesday to support Ready. Many cried and cheered as he emerged after filing the papers.

“This is not about destroying Gloriavale in any way … this is about seeing that the right thing is done for the people that live there,” Ready said.

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Former Gloriavale members John Ready and James Harrison outside the Greymouth District Court, where civil proceedings were filed against Gloriavale by a group of former community members.

He said he feared for the safety of the people, particularly young children.

Ready became an outsider when he left in 2017, living apart from his wife and nine children still inside.

Courage, Ready’s sister, said it was a bold move standing up to an organisation the size of Gloriavale.

“This is such a day to start the tide where these people can have freedom, and their voices can be heard and most of all families can be reunited. It’s amazing.”

Harrison said it was an emotional day.

Ready hugs his sister, Virginia Courage, with supporters outside the courthouse in Greymouth.

“We’ve been out of Gloriavale for five and a half years now and struggled to get change with so many different government agencies.

The isolated West Coast Christian community of Gloriavale has set itself apart from the rest of society for more than 50 years.

“I’m so glad that John has had the courage to stand on behalf of all of us that have family and friends in there that we want to see freedom for.”

Ready has a legal team working on the case with the support of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust.

Trust spokeswoman Liz Gregory said it was a “historic moment” on behalf of everyone who ever lived in the community.

“This is an incredible moment in history unlike any other that Gloriavale has ever faced. This is a real cry for help. This is going to have an impact on a lot of people's lives.”

The police have been investigating allegations of sexual abuse at the community.

Stuff earlier revealed the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust met with Charities Services last December and presented a letter signed by 35 recent Gloriavale leavers asking the agency to open another investigation.

The letter set out a host of concerns, including alleged physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, sick children being left alone because their parents had to work, no private space for families, and pressure for members to lie to outside agencies such as Oranga Tamariki and police.

On August 17, Charities Services general manager Natasha Weight told the trust it would not open another investigation at this stage.

It followed a 2015 investigation by Charities Services, part of the Department of Internal Affairs, into the operation of The Christian Church Community Trust, the registered charity behind the community.

Trustees may have acted in a manner that constituted serious wrongdoing under the Charities Act, the investigators found, particularly when it came to issues including the handling of physical and sexual assault allegations and members wanting to leave the community.

However, Charities Services decided it was in the public interest for the Trust to remain on the Charities Register, adding there was a high level of cooperation and genuine interest from the Trustees to act in the best interests of the Trust and the Gloriavale community.

Gregory previously said over the past few years Charities Services had been fed hundreds of concerns about the oppressive nature of the Gloriavale leadership towards its members.

“I am at a loss to explain how bad an organisation needs to get before there is intervention. This is an embarrassment to New Zealand.

“There are people being harmed at Gloriavale regularly, and unless Government agencies get serious about it, there will be more and more harm.”

One Gloriavale leaver, who previously spoke to Stuff on the condition of anonymity, said Charities Services needed to do their job and investigate.

“The people at Gloriavale are not free. They are denied basic human rights. They are living in what amounts to a communist regime,” she said.