Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry: Survivors to hear Crown held to account

A man who was sexually abused in state care will this week get to hear the Crown officials he has spent more than two decades fighting with for redress held to account.

Earl White, not his real name, shared his violent and abusive childhood as part of the ongoing Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry, investigating abuse in state and faith-based care between 1950 and 1999.

Nearly 2000 people, including 1400 survivors, have registered so far to share their stories with the commission, and nearly 600 have held private one-on-one sessions.

Over the next two weeks from Monday, witnesses for the Crown, including the Solicitor-General on behalf of the Crown Law Office, will describe their processes for resolving these historic and current abuse claims, which some survivors have said was "as bad as the abuse itself".

White was physically abused at Epuni Boys Home and later sexually abused by a cook while in state care at Hokio Beach School in the 1970s.

He started legal proceedings against the Crown in 1999, but officials refused his early settlement offers, even denying his claims of sexual abuse - despite knowing the staff member had been convicted in 1976 of similar offences at Hokio.

It took eight years for the case to come to court and another four years before in 2011 he accepted an ex-gratia payment of $35,000 from the Ministry of Social Development, but it did not accept responsibility.

White said the Crown would have spent close to $2 million fighting his case.

The whole process was a "nightmare" and had retraumatised him, he said, and he didn't feel justice had been done.

His poor education and health issues now meant he found it difficult to provide for his own children and grandchildren.

"I don't call myself a survivor because I am still waiting to be rescued.

"That can't happen until I receive justice, that would be a proper apology from the Prime Minister or Governor-General on behalf of the Queen to all of the thousands of children who have been harmed - including me and my brother."

White said it would be difficult to hear officials discuss his case once again, but he hoped it would mean nobody else would have to go through the same.

"I am living in hell, and hate to think there are hundreds of others going through the same.

"I'd like to ask [the officials] how their lives would have turned out if they had been through what I have been through. They need to be held accountable, I've been waiting 21 years for justice."

He said he was also speaking for those who could not.

"I lot of people have died, friends who had been in the same situation but never saw justice either.

"Others have been paid out $4000 or $6000, peanuts compared to what we've spent on counselling and psychiatrists, and what is spent on lawyers and officials.

"They need to admit what happened in the past, otherwise I can't see a way forward to the future."

The second State Redress Hearing will begin on Monday and run until November 4, with witnesses including representatives from the highest level at the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry of Justice and the Solicitor-General responding to survivors' evidence and outlining past and current policies and processes.

This follows the first State Redress Hearing held last month, which focused on the experiences of survivors in seeking redress for abuse in state care.

The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry is investigating the abuse and neglect that happened to children, young people and vulnerable adults in care from 1950 and 1999. It may also consider experiences of abuse or neglect outside these dates.

After completing its investigations, it will make recommendations to the Governor-General on how New Zealand can better care for children, young people and vulnerable adults.