What is perhaps most striking about Dr. Winter’s paper “Redressing historic abuse in New Zealand: a comparative critique” is the way he draws together two similar worlds to show where one world falls short. Dr. Winter uses a comprehensive comparative institutional model to highlight how the redress story differed in Ireland and what New Zealand can learn from it. This method of comparing and contrasting the outcomes/processes of two systems provides a blueprint for research. The story of such research is important for holding to account the power wielded by the state bureaucracy, whose exercise of different controls can have far-reaching consequences not apparent at the time a policy is implemented.
What Dr. Winter’s paper shows especially is how comparative research can take processes from across the globe to provide constructive criticism for the creation of better policy at home. For every other person who comes into contact with one of the many parts of the state such research can be relevant, why should our government fail to improve systems dealing with mental health and drug abuse when you can see better systems paying off overseas. Research in this form can provide a powerful argument for those seeking change, as the successes highlighted in other countries can provide a roadmap for a better Aotearoa.
