WELLINGTON: Following a public inquiry that revealed about 200,000 children, adolescents, and vulnerable adults had been mistreated in state and church care over the previous 70 years, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has expressed contrition.
According to a report released on Wednesday, almost one in three children and vulnerable individuals in care from 1950 to 2019 experienced abuse of some kind. This revelation could expose the government to future compensation claims worth billions of dollars.
“This is a dark and sorrowful day in New Zealand’s history as a society and as a state, we should have done better, and I am determined that we will do so,” Luxon said during a press conference.
On November 12, there will be a formal apology, he continued.There are 5.3 million people living in New Zealand, home to almost 2,300 abuse survivors who were interviewed for the Royal Commission of Inquiry report. The investigation found a long list of mistreatment that peaked in the 1970s and included rape, sterilization, and electric shocks in both state-run and faith-based care.
The investigation discovered that individuals with physical or mental problems, as well as members of the Indigenous Maori group, were particularly susceptible to abuse.
