The Royal Commission has welcomed a new Commissioner to the Abuse in Care Inquiry, bringing the total number overseeing the country's biggest-ever independent inquiry to five.
More importantly, this commissioner is Māori.
Julia Sleenson, a lawyer of Ngāti Whātua and Waikato-Tainui descent, has been appointed as a commissioner by the Governor-General, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today.
She takes over the commissioner role left by Judge Coral Shaw, who took over the chair in late 2019 following the resignation of former governor-general Sir Anand Satyanand.