Date of national day to acknowledge abuse in care survivors announced with $1m fund for local events

A national day to acknowledge the abuse, harm and pain hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders experienced in state and faith-based care will be held on November 12.

This one-off national day is being held on the anniversary of the Prime Minister’s historic official apology at Parliament to abuse in care survivors.

Lead Coordination Minister Erica Stanford said a $1 million contestable fund would be available for local and regional events.

“Survivors have indicated they would like to mark the day in their own way and their preference is for survivor focused groups and organisations to hold local, regional or national events.”

Up to $10,000 would be available for local events and up to $25,000 for regional events, she said.

In July last year, the long-awaited report of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission - six years in the making - was released and branded the abuse as a “national disgrace”.

The 2944-page report found that instead of receiving care and support in state and faith-based institutions, children, young people and adults were subjected to “unimaginable physical, emotional, mental and sexual abuse, severe exploitation and neglect”.

Survivors arriving at Parliament for the tabling of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care in July 2024. Photo / Mark Mitchell

An estimated 655,000 children, young people and adults were in care during the period under review, from 1950 to 2019. Of these, it estimated 200,000 were abused and even more were neglected.

The true number will never be known because some records were never created, were lost or, in some cases, destroyed.

Around 200 survivors watched Luxon’s apology at Parliament on November 12, 2024.

“You deserved so much better and I am deeply sorry that New Zealand did not do better by you.

“I am sorry you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse. I am sorry that many bystanders – staff, volunteers and carers – turned a blind eye and failed to stop or report abuse. I am sorry the state’s oversight of people in care was so poor.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon acknowledges the release of the report of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A redress pool has since been established for Lake Alice torture survivors. In the 70s and 80s, hundreds of children and young people were sent to the psychiatric institution in Manawatū, where many were tortured with electric shocks and painful injections of paraldehyde.

More people than expected applied for funding from the pool and this month, the Government increased the pool by $7m. The total funding available for the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent torture redress scheme is now $29.68m.

As of July 18, 137 applicants had been deemed eligible.

Redress options for those tortured at Lake Alice include a rapid $150,000 payment or an individualised assessment of the level of torture they were put through.

Thirty-nine survivors said they wanted an individual assessment, which will be reviewed by an independent arbiter, Paul Davison, KC.

Julia Gabel is a Wellington-based political reporter. She joined the Herald in 2020 and has most recently focused on data journalism.