Gloriavale leavers launch petition and protests to get Government inquiry

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

Former Gloriavale members tell their stories at the Unmasking Gloriavale fundraiser at Timaru's SBS Events Centre on Thursday evening.

A father of 10 who fled Gloriavale two years ago says the Government needs to launch a full independent inquiry into the community that is putting its members into “slavery”.

Isaac Pilgrim, 39, was born in the isolated West Coast Christian community and spent most of his life there.

He fled to Timaru with his 10 children in 2018, but his mother, father and nine of his brothers and sisters remain at Gloriavale.

'Growing up all my life I didn't know there was anything good outside Gloriavale. We were told the whole world was rotten, everyone was evil and if you left you'd end up on drugs.'

Isaac Pilgrim, 39, left the West Coast community of Gloriavale with his 10 children in 2018.

He protested with other former members and supporters outside The Press Leaders Debate in Christchurch on Tuesday, urging the Government to launch an inquiry.

The Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust wants the Government to hold an independent inquiry into the isolated Christian community.

* Gloriavale told to improve on work-related health risks by WorkSafe

* WorkSafe and Labour Inspectorate visit Gloriavale over illegal work claims

Jacinda Ardern has said she won’t order a full independent inquiry into Gloriavale.

* Gloriavale leavers calling for new investigation into community

'We're calling on the Government and Jacinda to open an inquiry into Gloriavale into the oppression and domination of the leadership there over the people. To us it is slavery,' he said.

'I want my friends in there to be free, to have the same rights as the rest of New Zealand has [because] they don't have the freedom of thought or the right to choose what they want to do.'

Extinction Rebellion and SAFE members – including Tusker the elephant, right - protest outside the Christchurch Town Hall, before The Press Leaders’ debate.

Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust manager Liz Gregory said an independent, immediate and wide-ranging inquiry was needed into the isolated West Coast Christian community.

Many had concerns about alleged modern-day slavery, exploitation, unsafe work practices, poor education, health neglect, coercion, oppression, physical and sexual abuse, and illegal activities, she said.

Ex-Gloriavale members and their supporters were disappointed Ardern said during last week’s NewsHub Leaders’ Debate that she would not support an inquiry into Gloriavale. Collins said she would.

SAFE and Extinction Rebellion activists campaign for climate action outside The Press Leaders Debate at the Christchurch Town Hall on Tuesday.

“Jacinda’s catch cry is ‘be kind’, and yet here she is reluctant to direct an inquiry into the secretive commune on the West Coast.”

A spokeswoman for Ardern said there was no need to establish a new standalone inquiry and any such proposal by National raised questions about funding and powers for such an inquiry.

“The Government has made clear that it takes allegations about mistreatment of workers at Gloriavale very seriously.

”A number of agencies … already have the power and resources to respond to complaints,” she said.

Former Gloriavale member James Harrison shares his story with humour as Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust general manager and support worker Liz Gregory looks on.

The Gloriavale leavers weren’t the only ones protesting outside Tuesday’s leaders debate in Christchurch.

Climate change activists from groups including SAFE and Extinction Rebellion also demonstrated outside the Christchurch Town Hall.

SAFE spokesman Will Appelbe said more needed to be done to avoid the worst effects of the climate emergency.

The Gloriavale Christian Community is located in the rural West Coast.

'Animal agriculture is our largest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions. We need to do better, and we can, if our politicians show strong leadership.'

Extinction Rebellion Ōtautahi spokesman Erik Kennedy said the climate activists would have rather been at home watching the debate, but they felt they needed to protest because the major parties were not taking climate change seriously enough.

He said the activists were 'speaking for those who can't' – the creatures that share the earth with humans.

'We're in the middle of an unprecedented extinction event, which is just one of the many things that climate change is going to be bringing us.'

Petition launched for Gloriavale inquiry

Gregory earlier started a petition calling for the House of Representatives to urge the Government to conduct a full independent inquiry into Gloriavale. More than 400 people have signed the petition so far.

She said people were leaving Gloriavale at an escalating rate and the trust had been running “unmasking Gloriavale” events around the country, where former members shared their stories.

James Harrison, who left the community five years ago with his wife and 12 children, said people were always blown away by the details of how Gloriavale was run and how the people there were treated.

“It’s important to raise awareness in the public of the issues that are involved at Gloriavale and give people a better understanding.”

Former member John Ready launched legal action against Gloriavale in the High Court late last month. Gloriavale has not yet been served the papers.

WorkSafe issued two improvement notices, one directive letter and one verbal direction covering risk assessment, forklifts and work-related health risks to the isolated community last week.

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said four assessors visited Gloriavale on September 28 and spoke to 13 workers who told them they were not workers, but volunteers.

The Labour Inspectorate has no jurisdiction over volunteers. It is calling on current or former members to come forward, so the inspectorate could further assess the workers’ status.

Police are also investigating allegations of sexual abuse at Gloriavale.