Grant West collecting signatures for a petition demanding a royal commission

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/83538768/Calls-for-royal-commission-into-child-abuse

A child-sex abuse survivor travelling New Zealand on a crusade to force a top-level inquiry into the issue has stopped in Palmerston North to gather support.

Grant West visited the city on Wednesday collecting signatures for a petition demanding a royal commission into institutional responses to sexual abuse of children.

West says something has to change, as the country is a “haven for paedophiles”. He says he was a victim of such predators nearly five decades ago and in seeking retribution, ended up in an institution.

More than 200 people added their names to the petition when West, on behalf of his fledgling advocacy group Silence No More NZ, collected support in front of the Plaza Shopping Centre in Palmerston North on Wednesday.

The petition will be presented to Labour MPs Kris Faafoi, Kelvin Davis and Stuart Nash on the steps of Parliament on September 15.