Gloriavale is being compared to living on a marae, with one commune member claiming Māori women have less say than Gloriavale women.
At an Employment Court hearing to decide whether six former residents are employees or volunteers, Treasure Stedfast introduced herself in te reo Māori, identifying her whakapapa (heritage) and links to the land at Gloriavale near Lake Haupiri.
She had spent a couple of days at a marae as part of her studies to be a teacher and said she felt "really at home" as it had many similarities with Gloriavale.
Stedfast said the children would go to the marae's kohanga reo while the women would cook and clean.
"I think something that struck me there is that women had absolutely no say, so at Gloriavale, in the women's realms on the teams, everything is directed by older women.
"Just like at Gloriavale, the Matua, head man made all the decisions, even down to which teams we (the women) were on and what each team was doing at each time of the day.
"This is more than what the men at Gloriavale do. We all worked together, and there was no arguing with the Matua.
"You did not say where you wanted to work or who you wanted to work with; you just did as what you were told," said Stedfast.
The court heard that Gloriavale accepts Māori language and culture, and this was a "really good example that we are bicultural".
"If this is the Māori culture and we respect, protect and uphold it, where is the difference then in domestic duties at Gloriavale?
"Our life at Gloriavale is a choice; I had made this choice and would like to choose to continue living this way as a mother working at a centre and then keeping my home."
Treasure Stedfast has a Bachelor's degree in early childhood education and has worked at Gloriavale Christian Toddlers for six years.
She is a Christian partner and is paid for her work, with the money going into her personal bank account before being transferred into Gloriavale’s sharing account.
"I can choose where my money is spent, but the reason why I live here is to share; I would not say I want my money to be spent on a car or anything else for me personally.
"It would only be spent on something that everyone in the community would use; this is fundamental to how we live," said Stedfast.
Finding out about sexual abuse at Gloriavale had a "terrible impact" on the community, and many didn’t know how it would be dealt with initially.
A programme is now being run by Government authorities to teach people how to spot signs of abuse in children, while teachers had received additional education tools.
Treasure Stedfast said Oranga Tamariki screened girls across "a large age range" and there are now child protection leads who are available for people to talk to.
"They will deal with whatever is raised and come back to me and tell me what has happened. I have only raised one matter … and the situation was dealt with," said Stedfast.
The hearing is continuing.
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