Justice for Moko Nationwide Speech

27th June 2016

Ladies and Gentlemen
New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud. Our Aotearoa. Our beautiful country…. A country that brings us so many things to be proud of, but when it comes to child abuse we can only be utterly ashamed.

In New Zealand, we have a problem and we need to acknowledge it. Our children are dying. In the last 25 years abuse, neglect and maltreatment has claimed over 200 children, last year being one of the worst years on record. The stories are heart-breaking, the pictures are disturbing, the figures are confronting. Sadly, they are NZ’s shameful reality.

Today, we are here to stand up. To stand up and show our country we are better than this. Our children deserve better.

Today, we are here to stand up and say we won't be ignoring it or accepting excuses.

The principle purpose of this Nationwide Rally is to set in motion a journey to stop NZ’s horrific and shameful level of child abuse AND to demand that anyone….anyone…who abuses a child is punished….and punished severely….and that does not mean allowing plea bargains to be part of the punishment.

The ‘Justice for Moko’ we demand today will not be carried out inside a courthouse but on the grounds outside courthouses all around NZ. “Moko, your death has united a nation in grief and horror at what happened to you and will be a catalyst for change.”

We want a country where kids are brought in to, and raised by family that wants them and loves them.
Moko deserved and surely had a right to expect that?

Instead, Moko was brutally beaten and tortured over a two- month period. He was bitten. He was stomped on. He was kicked. He was starved. He was dropped face first to the floor. He screamed in pain, so they covered his mouth to silence him. Even when he was so weak, he could barely walk, the swelling to his face was so significant he could hardly open his eyes, his little body completely battered, his murderers continued to inflict pain and suffering. Moko died from multiple lethal injuries, any one of which could have killed him. He was three years old.

The police rightly charged his killers with murder. His death met all the criteria for a murder conviction. BUT because of our current laws, the killers were able to enter into a plea bargain arrangement that allowed those murders to plead guilty to manslaughter instead.

With the country united we will be doing everything in our power to ensure this never happens again. We are here today to demand change. “Enough is Enough!”

The Prime Minister John Key has said he doesn’t believe change is necessary.

The Attorney General, Chris Finlayson, who is responsible for the plea bargain legislation sneeringly says he will explain ‘in words of one syllable’ why this seemingly inexplicable decision was made. But, he will only do that after the sentencing today. The people of NZ have a right to know why Moko’s killers are not facing murder charges today. We also want to know Mr Finlayson, if Moko’s chilling death is not murder… what is?

This arrogance and contempt from our so called leaders has played a huge part in NZ now having one of the highest levels of child abuse in the developed world. It seems saving money in a broken justice system is more important than saving lives.
Legislation passed by Parliaments, both past and present, has meant that the courts…who used to be the control gates for society, have now become the floodgates! Child abuse is rife!

There is nothing that will ever justify the harming of children. We say no more sugar coating and no more disguising. Killing our children is murder!

The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a large and effective organisation representing people just like us who have had enough. Together we have lobbied for successful changes to legislation. The introduction of the three strikes policy into New Zealand law; life without parole for the worst murderers; an offender levy fund that has so far collected $20 million dollars to help victims of crime, to name a few. Now is no different. We will be working tirelessly to save our children and stop child abuse. To do this we need all of you. Sign the petition, take flyers, join the Trust, make a donation. Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much. The past has proven that.

Together we can and will be changing the legislation, but that alone won't stop child abuse. Our children are the next generation of parents. We need you to continue to stand up and say “enough is enough.” We need to continue to shame it. We need to stay committed and we need to be loud and clear that we will not be tolerating child abuse in our country. We demand Justice for Moko.

Children cannot stop the abuse…..BUT adults can….We can…..You can!

You stood up today…… for precious Moko……. for all children….. and for our country.

ends

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