The Front Page: Inside Gloriavale - The woman fighting for change from within

Sharon Ready is fighting for change from within the secretive community. Photo / Gloriavale documentary

Sharon Ready currently lives above an aircraft hangar that served as the former commercial base for Gloriavale.

It's cold, dark and damp, but she stays on because this is where her family and deceased relatives are located.

"Sharon is what I would describe as a refugee living inside Gloriavale," Fergus Grady, co-director of the new documentary Gloriavale, tells the Front Page podcast.

"She butted heads with the leadership and there have been a number of conflicts that have resulted in her having meals withheld. She's able to source food for herself and her husband, but ultimately she's ostracised from the community."

That ostracisation has had a dire impact on her life.

"Her living conditions are pretty much below the poverty line," says Grady, whose film will premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival.

"She's a strong woman, fighting for what she believes in, but unfortunately she's having to live in quite squalid and terrible conditions."

Ready, one of the original members of Gloriavale, stays because she believes she can make a difference from within.

On a daily basis, she still tries to do her part and be helpful to the community still living there, which includes six of her children and about 30 of her grandchildren.

Those family connections play a major role in keeping her connected to the community, but it also goes further than that.

"It's not only because of family that she's determined to live and die inside Gloriavale. It's also the connection to the place. It's 50 years of service and servitude, whichever way you look at it.

"She also lost a daughter there, and she tends to the grave daily. She draws on her Māori roots, and her beliefs in staying close to deceased family members."

Grady's decision to use the word 'servitude' is deliberate.

Sharon Ready, her son John and her daughter Virginia Courage are among those who have turned to the legal system for support.

But they aren't fighting this battle in isolation. This documentary arrives amid a slew of recent legal action about the labour practices happening within the community.

The Labour Inspectorate investigated in 2017 after concerns raised by Charities Services, and again in 2020 because of allegations of long working hours being made by two community members.

Then, in May this year, Gloriavale's leaders issued an unprecedented public apology, saying they denounced "any and all offending that has occurred".

This came after the Employment Court ruled that a group of ex-Gloriavale members were employees from when they were just six years old and regularly undertook "strenuous, difficult, and sometimes dangerous" work when they were still legally required to be at school.

This damning finding led to further legal repercussions, including an announcement by Chinese-owned Westland to stop milk collection from Gloriavale-owned farms – a move that would cost the secretive community up to $9 million in lost income annually.

Liz Gregory, manager of the Gloriavale Leavers Trust, says that legal success of some former members will motivate other members eager to get their day in court.

The next case coming up will see a group of women have their employment status defined by the Employment Court.

"That begins in August and it will run for about three weeks into September," says Gregory.

"It will again look if there was forced labour and whether the women were volunteers or employees."

Gregory says that these issues don't only impact young members of the Gloriavale community, and that adults also face tough working conditions.

There is a growing contingent of former members who are willing to challenge the systems and structures that exist within Gloriavale.

"In an 18-month period, ending last year, about 80 people. And over the last nine or ten years, it's been a total of around 220, which is a significant number for a community that size," says Gregory.

"[The leavers] know they can get support now, whereas, in the past, the connections into Gloriavale were difficult. There's a lot more communication going in and a lot more support from the outside. That's giving more people the courage to leave.

"But ultimately, they're leaving because they found that they were lied to, that there was a widespread crime and abuse that was being hidden and that there were things about God and the Bible that they can see just aren't true."

Having seen this unfolding first-hand over the last 50 years, Sharon Ready's faith has remained steadfast, and she continues to believe the community can change for the better – provided there's intervention.

With so many former members now taking legal action, it appears that long-awaited intervention has finally arrived.

Gloriavale premieres as part of the New Zealand Intenational Film Festival on 6 August at The Civic in Auckland.

Listen to the full interview with Grady and Gregory on today's episode of the Front Page podcast.

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