The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry was established to investigate abuse and neglect of children, young people and adults in state- and faith-based care from 1950 to 1999. However, it has also heard submissions from people who were abused since then.
The inquiry’s final report was also being presented in Parliament this afternoon, more than five years after the terms of reference were first announced.
The commission has called the abuse a “national disgrace”, estimating that about 200,000 children, young people and adults were abused between 1950 and 2019, with even more neglected.
Thousands of brave survivors shared their experiences with the commission and Luxon lauded them for their exceptional strength, incredible courage, and their confronting honesty.
“I cannot take away your pain, but I can tell you this today – you are heard and you are believed.
“The state was supposed to care for you, to protect you, but instead it subjected you to unimaginable physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse.
“A number of faith-based schools, institutions and people in positions of authority who you should have been able to trust failed you in the worst possible way. This is a dark and sorrowful day in New Zealand’s history.”
Luxon also said it was his “heavy duty to say that today the Government is also formally acknowledging that the experiences of some children and young people at Lake Alice Hospital did amount to torture”.
“Patients at Lake Alice were given electric shocks without anaesthetic, as well as painful and immobilising paraldehyde injections. These so-called treatments were not administered for medical reasons. They were used for punishment and for emotional control.
“These experiences were nothing short of horrific and they happened in a New Zealand health system within living memory. To the survivors of Lake Alice, thank you for your determination to ensure what you suffered was brought to light.
“I am sorry that it has taken so long for this acknowledgement of torture. To the survivors, thank you. We will never lose sight of what you have endured to bring the truth to light.”
PM delivers speech: ‘Childhoods cruelly taken away’
Speaking in the House in Parliament, Luxon told survivors – some of whom were in the public gallery – the burden was no longer theirs to carry alone.
“The State is now standing here beside you, accountable and ready to take action
Luxon also acknowledged the survivors of Lake Alice – including those in the gallery, saying what happened at the psychiatric facility was wrong.
“You knew then it was wrong, and all these years later, the State also acknowledges it was wrong.
“Today, I humbly stand before you in this House to offer a long overdue apology to the survivors of Lake Alice. I am sorry that it has taken so long for this acknowledgement of torture.”
“I know that for some Lake Alice survivors, the acknowledgement today that what happened to you was torture is something for which you have been waiting for decades.
“For you, this is a day of great significance. For others who suffered torture, I know this acknowledgement feels hollow without the recognition that comes with redress.
“I regret that that is not something that we can give you today, but it is a priority for the Government in the coming months.”
Luxon acknowledged Paul Zentveld and Malcolm Richards, who took cases against New Zealand to the United Nations Committee Against Torture, eliciting cheers and applause from the public gallery.
“Today is about acknowledging those who had their carefree childhoods cruelly taken away from them.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the report was a “harrowing and confronting” account of the atrocities suffered by those in state- and faith-based care. What happened was unacceptable and remains a disgraceful part of New Zealand’s history, he said.
“The consequences for survivors have been far-reaching and intergenerational – affecting families and loved ones across decades.
“There will never be closure for some, but I hope that today offers some relief for survivors – that their fight to be heard has resulted in a formal apology and redress.”
Stanford: ‘They were terrified’
Minister Erica Stanford, who is leading the Government’s response to the inquiry, was visibly emotional as she spoke about the accounts of abuse detailed in the report. She described the decades over which the abuse took place as “a dark stain on New Zealand’s past”.
“The stories contained in this report serve as a kind of jolt of reality, the kinds of unimaginable, despicable horrors and abuse and neglect in care that we always believed happened in other countries, happened here. They happened at scale and they destroyed lives.
“As the Lead Co-ordination Minister for Crown Response, I have read all of the stories. The pages of those stories tell us that they were young, they were vulnerable, and they were terrified.”
Stanford said the Government was prioritising making decisions around redress for the survivors.
“What I can commit to them is we will engage with the Royal Commission’s report and recommendations in good faith with careful consideration and provide more clarity by November.”
Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.
