8. The Commission welcomes the following policy and legislative developments, which we will elaborate upon in this submission: (a) Commencement of the work programme Hāpaitia te Oranga Tangata: Safe and Effective Justice to consider ways to improve systemic shortcomings in the criminal justice system. (b) Appointment of a Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence in November 2020; establishing a dedicated whole-of-government response to family violence, underpinned by a national strategy and action plan to eliminate family, and legislative reform. (c) Introduction of a National Action Plan Against Forced Labour, People Trafficking and Slavery and proposals for new legislation that aims to address modern slavery and worker exploitation. (d) Increasing the annual Refugee Quota from 1000 to 1500, removing discriminatory “family link” restrictions on African and Middle Eastern refugees, and establishing and then accepting the recommendations of the independent review on the restriction of movement of asylum seekers. (e) Commitment to make improvements to the mental health system, including repealing and replacing the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992 and adopting a zero-seclusion policy focusing on eliminating seclusion in mental health facilities. 9. However, the following issues are of concern: (a) Systemic shortcomings in the treatment of Māori as they continue to be hugely overrepresented at all stages of the criminal justice and State care systems in Aotearoa New Zealand. (b) Treatment of prisoners, particularly in relation to the use of non-lethal weapons, solitary confinement, seclusion and restraint, conditions in prisons and the treatment of women. (c) Seclusion rates are still too high in mental health facilities and the use of compulsory treatment orders under the Mental Health (Compulsory Treatment) Act continues to rise. (d) Asylum seekers continue to be provided with limited access to specialist support services while their claims are being processed. Legislation has also been introduced that reintroduces the possibility of detention of asylum seekers in prisons and extends the period of time for which they can be held in detention if they arrive as part of a “mass group”. (e) While we welcome the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care and Faith Based Care, survivors are still waiting for holistic redress. In particular, the Government has not implemented the Committee’s decisions regarding Mr Paul Zentveld and Mr Malcolm Richards. 5