New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has formally apologized to victims of care home abuse following an investigation into one of the country’s biggest abuse scandals.
The historic apology made in Congress recognizes that between 1950 and 2019, 200,000 children and vulnerable adults were abused while in state and faith-based care. This was done in response to a report confirming this.
Many included Māori and Pacific peoples, as well as people with mental or physical disabilities.
Since then, the government has promised to reform the care system.
“On behalf of myself and the previous government, I apologize to all survivors,” Luxon said Tuesday.
“It was scary. It was heartbreaking. It was a mistake. And it should never have happened,” he added. “For many people, it changed the course of their lives, and for that the government must be held accountable.”
Mr Luxon said the inquiry was the largest and most complex public inquiry ever undertaken in New Zealand, took six years to complete and investigated abuse in state and faith-based care facilities. It also included interviews with more than 2,300 survivors.
Subsequent reports documented a wide range of abuses, including rape, sterilization, and forced labor.
They found that faith-based facilities had higher rates of sexual abuse than state-run care. And as civic and religious leaders fought to cover up the abuse by moving the abusers elsewhere or denying their guilt, many victims died before justice was brought to them.
The findings were seen as vindication for people who confront and often struggle to be believed by powerful officials, states and religious groups.
Some survivors and advocates arrived in parliament on Tuesday to hear the prime minister’s apology, while hundreds of others watched via livestream across the country. Luxon had previously faced criticism for issuing an apology in parliament, which meant many survivors were unable to hear directly from the prime minister.
Survivors argue that Luxon’s apology rings hollow unless accompanied by a proper compensation plan.
“The effects of that trauma have been felt for the rest of my life,” Tupua Ulrich, a Maori survivor who gave evidence of abuse to the inquiry, told the BBC’s Newsday programme. “It wasn’t just physical abuse, it was disconnection from family and culture.”
“Justice? No, not yet…These words mean nothing unless they are accompanied by action, and the right kind of action informed by survivors.
“Government has proven that it alone cannot be trusted and is not capable of delivering the kind of change and services that we need.”
Details of the return plan are not expected to be announced until early next year.
Mr Luxon announced on Tuesday that the government would pump an additional NZ$32 million ($19 million, £15 million) into the current system while working on a new financial relief mechanism for survivors.
The inquiry made more than 100 recommendations, including a public apology from New Zealand authorities and religious leaders and legislation requiring people to report suspected abuse.
Luxon said the government had completed or was working on 28 of those recommendations, but did not provide specific details.
After Mr Luxon apologized, a bill aimed at better protecting children in his care was read for the first time in parliament on Tuesday. The bill proposes, among other things, a ban on strip searches and increased restrictions on people working with young children.
Luxon also announced that a national day of mourning will be held on November 12 next year to commemorate Tuesday’s apology anniversary.
“It is the responsibility of all of us to do everything we can to prevent future abuses that should never be tolerated,” he said.
