Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

 (By: Jimmy Ellingham)        

The announcement that 37 former patients of the infamous Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital’s Child and Adolescent Unit had received individual compensation payments of up to $600,000 marks a historic, if deeply belated, moment of state accountability in Aotearoa New Zealand. These payments, which saw the majority of recipients receive amounts between $175,000 and $250,000, are not merely financial transactions; they represent the culmination of a decades-long struggle by survivors to have the systemic, brutal abuse they endured as children formally recognized as state-sponsored torture.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

The recent payouts, confirmed in November 2025, are the result of a specific redress scheme established by the government following damning findings by the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry and international scrutiny. They contrast sharply with earlier, inadequate settlements and highlight a new, critical phase in the nation’s reckoning with its institutional past.

The Dark Shadow of Lake Alice

The Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit, located near Marton in the Manawatū region, operated between 1972 and 1978. It was ostensibly a facility for young people suffering from mental distress. Still, under the leadership of head psychiatrist Dr. Selwyn Leeks, it quickly became an environment of systematic cruelty and fear.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care later found that many of the 362 children who passed through the unit during that period had been admitted not for mental illness but for "behavioral" problems, often stemming from histories of childhood adversity and trauma. Compounding this injustice, the children who were meant to be protected by the state were instead subjected to what was officially determined to be torture.

The abuse was horrific and calculated. Survivors repeatedly recounted receiving unmodified electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)—electric shocks administered without anesthetic—applied to their heads, limbs, torso, and even genitals, not for medical treatment, but as a cruel and improper form of aversion therapy and punishment for misbehavior. Children were also injected with paraldehyde, a highly painful and immobilizing sedative, for punitive purposes. Beyond these medical atrocities, the unit fostered a culture of physical violence, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, and degradation. Vulnerable populations, including Māori children, were disproportionately represented and suffered further harm through institutional racism and the ignoring of their cultural needs.

A Four-Decade Battle for Recognition

The recent compensation is not the beginning of the Crown’s payments but rather the rectification of profound historical injustice. Allegations against Lake Alice staff emerged almost immediately after the unit closed. Still, for decades, survivors faced resistance, denial, and systemic delay from the very state entities that failed to protect them.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

In the mid-1990s, survivors began to pursue legal action, leading to a group settlement in 2001. While this resulted in a payment of NZ$6.5 million, it was marred by inequity. Due to the Crown’s initial refusal to cover legal costs, the first group of 95 survivors saw substantial portions of their settlements—around $27,000 per person—deducted for legal fees, leaving them with an average net payment of approximately $41,000. Later claimants received larger net sums because the Crown eventually agreed to cover their legal costs. This "historic redress inequity" was an injustice that prolonged the survivors’ trauma, making them feel victimized once again by the state system.

The definitive breakthrough came not only through domestic advocacy but also through international pressure. The United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) heard communications from survivors, including Paul Zentveld and Malcolm Richards, finding in 2019 and 2022 that New Zealand was in breach of multiple articles of the UN Convention Against Torture, specifically failing to provide prompt, impartial investigations and adequate compensation. This international ruling proved pivotal.

The Redress Scheme: Acknowledging Torture

Responding to the Royal Commission's findings and the UN’s demands, the government formally acknowledged in July 2024 that the actions at the Lake Alice Unit met the definition of torture under the UN Convention. This explicit acknowledgement, a first for the New Zealand Government, set the stage for the specific redress scheme implemented in December 2024.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

The scheme, which initially set aside up to $22.68 million, offered two pathways for eligible survivors who were confirmed to have received unmodified ECT and/or paraldehyde injections:

1. The Expedited Pathway: A fixed, rapid payment of $150,000 for survivors who prioritized speed and certainty. A total of 105 survivors opted for this route, with the first payments commencing in early 2025.

2. The Individualised Pathway: An assessed payment process by an independent arbiter, the Honourable Paul Davison KC, designed for those who sought a higher payment reflecting the specific, enduring impact and severity of their unique abuse.

It is the outcomes of this individualized pathway that have been revealed most recently.

Individual Justice: The $600,000 Range

The 37 survivors who chose the individualized assessment pathway had their claims meticulously reviewed by Paul Davison KC, working within a defined framework and a fiscal envelope of $8.39 million. The resulting payments spanned a range from $160,000 to the maximum of $600,000.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

The arbiter’s report noted the profoundly painful and difficult process of survivors recounting their traumatic memories. This process, while cathartic for some in providing an opportunity to be heard and acknowledged by someone in a position of responsibility, served to underscore the indelible memories of the "cruel and malevolent process" they were subjected to.

The payments were allocated across bands of severity, reflecting that while all abuse was severe, the level of lifelong harm varied:

• Most Severe: A small group received payments in the highest band, ranging from $375,000 up to the maximum of $600,000. These payments recognize trauma that has fundamentally and permanently blighted their physical, psychological, and economic lives.

• More Severe: The majority of the 37 survivors fell into this category, receiving payments between $175,000 and $250,000.

• Severe: Payments in this band started at $160,000, acknowledging serious, lasting trauma.

Davison’s determination was not just a financial calculation; it was an attempt to measure the immeasurable. As he stated, the survivors often saw their lives as having been blighted by their time at Lake Alice, with their original problems aggravated, rather than treated, by the institution.

The Path to True Accountability

The redress scheme includes components beyond the financial. Each eligible survivor is due to receive a new written apology from the prime minister and the minister for mental health, explicitly acknowledging the torture they endured. Furthermore, the Crown is facilitating access to ongoing well-being, rehabilitative, and financial support services.

Justice Measured in Trauma: The Individualised Compensation for Survivors of Torture at Lake Alice

While no amount of money can truly right the wrongs inflicted, these individualized payments represent the strongest expression of regret and accountability to date. The decision acknowledges that the state failed its most vulnerable citizens in the most grievous way possible, resulting in lifelong consequences—including poor health, educational disruption, and economic hardship—that have, in some cases, transferred across generations.

The battle for the Lake Alice survivors is a powerful, enduring reminder of the human cost of institutional secrecy and state denial. The high-value individual payments reflect a hard-won victory for accountability, setting a precedent for how New Zealand must address the ongoing findings of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission and ensure that such state-sponsored terror is never again inflicted on children in its care.