Senior Government minister Louise Upston visited Gloriavale in late January, months after refusing to rule out closing the religious community following allegations of child abuse in the community.

Newstalk ZB has confirmed Upston visited the sect on January 30, alongside officials from the Ministry of Social Development.

She said while there, she met with the community’s new overseeing shepherd, Stephen Standfast, and other community leaders.

“I welcome the opportunity to learn about the changes they’ve made over the last few years, and am pleased to see they are supportive of the outcomes framework and working together in the months ahead.”

Upston is leading a group of 10 Government ministers responding to issues at the West Coast community, and leads the Government’s response to the Gloriavale-specific recommendation of the Royal Commission to Abuse in Care.

The commission called on the Government to take action to protect members of the community.

In October, the Herald revealed former Gloriavale resident Virginia Courage helped resuscitate a baby after the infant’s father allegedly blocked the baby’s airways to prevent it from crying.

During public hearings, the commission heard evidence that Gloriavale’s parents were taught to cover the mouths and noses of babies and children as a form of discipline because founder Hopeful Christian “hated” the sound of crying children.

Upston was not aware of the hand-over-mouth technique – nor of Courage’s experiences while living at the commune – until receiving questions from the Herald.

She said she was “extremely concerned” to learn of the disciplinary method.

“That is absolutely horrendous, and that was the first I was made aware of that,” she said at the time.

Upston said in October that officials from agencies including police, Oranga Tamariki and Health New Zealand were visiting regularly – a comment she reiterated today.

Asked then if she could rule out authorities closing Gloriavale, Upston didn’t rule it out.

She wouldn’t say if she’d been provided any advice on options to shut the community in the interests of protecting young people.

“We’re working through a number of issues, but what I’m not going to do is predetermine any outcomes.”

The Ministry of Education also investigated the community’s school, Gloriavale Christian School, and decided to cancel its registration in December.

The cancellation was due to take effect in January, but was halted as the school sought a judicial review of the decision.

Ethan Griffiths is a political reporter with Newstalk ZB, based in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. He joined NZME as a print journalist in 2020, previously working as an Open Justice reporter in the Bay of Plenty and Wellington, and as a general reporter in Whanganui.