Overwhelming evidence

For the head of the inquiry into abuse in care, doing justice to the survivors' stories fully vindicates the six-year process.

- KIRSTEN WARNER

Coral Shaw had no idea of the scale of what she was undertaking when she agreed to join the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, or that it would consume six years of her life. Becoming chair after one year was, again, not something she'd anticipated, but she felt a strong obligation to accept the role that others had decided she was capable of.

A mother of two with three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, Shaw is quick to find humour, warmth and empathy, which enabled her to engage with witnesses at the inquiry. The former United Nations Dispute Tribunal and district and employment court judge also has the mind and ability to encompass wide-ranging legal and systemic issues. With the help of other commissioners and a large team of experts, researchers and analysts, the inquiry's report provides a detailed roadmap for how to legislate, organise and monitor care in New Zealand.

When the first nondescript box of the commission's final report was couriered to Shaw's rural Waikato home, she cried. "I'm very prone to bursting into tears."

The report details abuse, neglect and torture in care - 13 volumes of material - and the stories were affecting. Did she cry at the hearings? "Constantly. Of course, I did. I'm a terrible crier. You'd have to have a heart of stone not to be moved to tears."

She worked out that if she sat up straight enough and leaned gently, tears dropped straight onto her blotter, "instead of running down with your eye makeup or pouring down your face. They are very important techniques for crying in court."

Shaw was appointed commission chair in November 2019 when its first head, former governor-general Sir Anand Satyanand, stepped down after a year and a half, citing the increasing workload. He was told he would be working three days a week, three weeks of the month, for three years.