Abuse in Care report: Politicians pledge cross-party action in speeches

Politicians have delivered apologies and promised action after the massive report on abuse in care was made public.

'We understand the urgency and importance of this work' - Christopher Luxon

In his speech, the prime minister committed himself and his government to providing redress, saying it was a day many of those abused never thought would come, calling it a "dark and sorrowful day in New Zealand's history".

"It is now the responsibility of the State to make redress and this government will ensure it happens, and as Prime Minister, I will ensure the State carries its care and protection responsibilities with great weight."

Luxon said the government was formally acknowledging the experiences at Lake Alice did amount to torture, and apologised this had taken so long to do.

He highlighted the need for the government to take the report and the abuse seriously, saying it was important that New Zealand confront this shameful chapter in its history, and promising the state would stand alongside survivors, take action, and be accountable.

"A terrible injustice was done in the name of State care. It is now the responsibility of the State to make redress and this Government will ensure it happens."

"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."

He thanked the nearly 2400 submitters "for your exceptional strength, your incredible courage, and your confronting honesty ... because of you, we know the truth about the abuse and trauma you have endured."

"Many of your stories are horrific and harrowing. They are painful to read, but not as painful as they were to endure. The state was supposed to care for you - but instead many of you were subjected to the most horrendous physical, emotional, mental, and sexual abuse."

He acknowledged they had been failed by the institutions they should have been able to trust, and were ignored or denied when they tried to seek justice, noting Māori, Pacific, deaf and disabled people disproportionately bore the brunt.

"I want to assure you that we understand the urgency and importance of this work and we will provide clarity before the end of the year."

However, he also emphasised that while action would come "it cannot be rushed", pointing ahead to the formal apology set down for 12 November and the ministerial group to be headed by lead minister Erica Stanford.

He also thanked the Commissioners and staff who worked on the inquiry, acknowledged the previous Labour government for beginning it nearly six years earlier, and again thanked survivors for their bravery.

"I will never lose sight of what you have endured to bring the truth to life," he said, before closing with a karakia written by Waihoroi Shortland who worked on the inquiry.

"To you upon whom this inquiry has been centred, resolute in your pursuit of justice, relentless in your belief for life, we have only our highest regard and respect, may your peace of mind be assured."

'This must be bigger than politics' - Hipkins

Labour leader Hipkins acknowledged survivors' strength, courage and perseverance.

"Many of you have dedicated your lives to this fight and many of you have dedicated your lives to protecting and being a voice for future generations, so that they do not have to endure what you have. We see you, we hear you, and we thank you."

He said while a formal apology was still some time away "we are sorry, as a society and a country we are sorry".

Hipkins said New Zealand owed an enormous debt to the survivors, with the Royal Commission having shone a light on a "nationwide intergenerational shame for New Zealand".

He could not imagine how it would feel being told as a child nobody loved them, and to then have those entrusted to care for them "to set about demonstrating that through their actions, I cannot imagine the trauma, the lifelong trauma, that would have inflicted".

He pointed to the targeting of Māori, Pasifika, and disabled people, highlighting a quote from the report which said the abuse had one thing in common: "they devalued and dehumanised children, young people and adults in care".

"Those words are a siren call to all of us today, they are a ruler that we should measure our actions today against, because the abuse in state care is not over," he said, to raucous applause from survivors in the public gallery.

He also referred to a quote from Dr Rawiri Waratini-Karena from the beginning of the report, saying that at age 18 never having been to prison before, he knew 45 of the 50 men in the prison yard and knew there was a pipeline to prison process in care.

Hipkins thanked Luxon for his words, and admitted Labour had fallen short in its own response.

"Prime Minister, we didn't do enough, and the ball now falls to you and your government. This must be bigger than politics."

He ended with a lengthy homage to those who did not survive, a quote from the Royal Commission on how they began their report: "To you who came to us with nothing in your hands, with sorrow clouding your hearts ... while your voices are now silent, your words will endure, rest in peace, and in that peace we hope you find solace in this report".

'That means no military-style boot camps' - Swarbrick

Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said she wanted to acknowledge the wight of history, resilience, and the potential for healing, saying words could not convey the failures and injustices of the state.

"But words do matter, they are something to be held accountable to ... let it be clear that we in the Greens are so, so deeply sorry."

She said she had spoken to some survivors who had asked if there would be a formal welcome to Parliament, and had personally handed a letter from one to the prime minister.

Survivors had told her they wanted two things on the record: the apology, and to identify what redress and justice looks like. The next step would be an apology outside of the institution of Parliament, "to come to survivors, not to continue to ask survivors to come to us".

They had also said they wanted her to be clear the abuse had not stopped in 1999, which is where the Royal Commission's scope ends, she said.

Swarbrick also highlighted the disproportionate targeting of members of minorities, including with girls and women placed in faith-based homes - their babies taken away and adopted out and for Māori legally severing their ties to whakapapa.

"That harm did not just happen in state care in the form of immense and devastating physical and sexual abuse, it stayed with the people and in some cases it multiplied. That harm was the seed that grew gangs in this country and the state responded largely by compounding that harm."

It was most obviously visible today in prisons, she said, which also failed victims and offenders "by producing more crime, not less".

"We need to reconcile that this abuse and the consequences of this abuse are not historic ... it is built into the fabric of the way that our state has worked since colonisation in this country established this Parliament."

She said there must be financial redress, but more than that: "this apology must transcend into ensuring that no people are ever subjected to this at the hand of the state ever again".

"What that means, and what survivors this morning told us, is that that means no military-style boot camps," she said, to cheers and applause. She also called for section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act to be retained, before ending with the refrain:

"At the end of the day, what is the most important thing in the world? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata, it is people, it is people, it is people."

'It is time we faced this poison' - Karen Chhour

ACT's Karen Chhour acknowledged those who were no longer living, who "left this world only knowing the horrors they experienced, the cruelty and the unbearable treatment that they received, and my heart goes out to them", before also acknowledging those watching.

Chhour is also the lead minister for the government's boot camps policy, and a cry of 'shame' had come down from the public gallery as she stood. A call of "no boot camps" could also be heard later on in her speech.

But Chhour is also the only sitting MP who experienced the care system first hand, and delivered her speech with passion and sorrow.

"The fact that so many offenders were able to victimise and harm, repeatedly for years on end, negatively impacting countless children and their families for generations long past their own lifetimes is devastating and unacceptable," she said, growing visibly emotional.

"These monsters used their positions of authority both as a weapon and a shield."

Applause rang out as she said a long hard look was needed - not only at the perpetrators but those who enabled the abuse by looking the other way. More applause and cheers as she said it was unacceptable to remove a child from harm, only to place them somewhere that was equally unsafe or worse.

Chhour also paid tribute to survivors who had later become Oranga Tamariki workers to fight for change from the inside.

"We need the care system as a whole for children and for adults across all settings and environments to become increasingly safer for those who need it."

"I have my own personal trauma related to dealing with state care, and this report affects me deeply. I am filled with compassion for the hardships and trauma that so many have endured and have continued to suffer from .... it is time we faced this poison that is rotting our nation from the inside."

She said what had happened was clearly unacceptable and the state had tolerated rape and misuse of power for far too long.

"This did not just happen in a few isolated cases or situations. The abuse was systematic, continuous, and sadly normalised ... it is important that we act decisively and honour the courage of these victims and survivors by making sure that something like this never happens again."

'This report is our judgement' - Costello

MP Casey Costello spoke for NZ First, saying the report had captured the nation's attention and she hoped those gathered at Parliament would feel that place "is not talking about you, but that we are representing you.

"No matter your politics, no matter your party affiliations or political outlook, I believe every member in this chamber knows that the key role fo the state is to protect our most vulnerable. Every society should be judged by how we care for and protect those who need it most.

"This report is our judgement ... as a society and as the Crown, we should have done better."

She said it was clear to her all the parties were united in wanting to make a difference in the wake of the report.

Costello also spoke of her time as a police officer, saying she had looked into the eyes of many victims and "I still see those eyes and I see those faces whether it was child who had been the victim of recent abuse ... or whether it was a grown adult who was recounting the pain from many years ago".

"In some way it helps me understand what it must have been like for those who have shared their experiences in the report," she said.

Like the tortured little boy who she had once seen show an "absolute shining light of joy" after being given a lollipop by a nurse, it was small interventions which could have brought survivors joy, she said.

"Perhaps today as we speak and recognise the strength, resilience, perseverance and courage, there will be some light."

Similar to Luxon, she said the response to the report six years in the making needed to be considered with respect and care.

"It will have been hard and painful to share your story, it has been hard and painful to read it, however you must know that after we all leave this place, when we have taken the action agreed and delivered what is needed your story will never fade out. We have heard your voice, we have seen your face and felt your pain. Today you have changed lives, moved hearts, and opened eyes."

'What the hell has changed for us?' - Ngarewa-Packer

After beginning in te reo Māori, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said she wanted to mihi to those who were brave and gave their stories to the report, and those who never could.

"Arrive here and unshackle the weight... of everything you have carried and had to listen to. This is not the place for your rongoā, the place for your rongoā is in your moana, by your maunga, by your awa, by your hapū, by your marae.

"This is the place where you lay your mamae and you leave it here, you leave it here with those with a forked tongue."

She said she had to hear how people had been targeted because they were Māori, takatāpui, tangata whaikaha, tangata turi or poor, and "you listen to the richness of all the kōrero today but what the hell has changed for us?"

She said the Crown must be held accountable for the abuse "because it is criminal, and it is criminal negligence ... there must be consequences".

She told survivors not to accept that the report must be digested slowly.

"For cripes sake, my mokopuna can see what's needed."

She related the experiences of a long list of survivors and their experiences.

"Nothing learned, all of these experiences have been shared ... yet here we are in a government which is saying how sorry it is but it continues to create mega-prisons, removes 7AA of Oranga Tamariki and experiments with our rangatahi in justice in boot camps."

She said the authorities should be learning from the report, "otherwise all of this is just lip service that looks really great for the international governments".

"So we will not stop until the last of our breath goes out and I can sit here and I can say that this place stops creating harm for not just our people but all of our people and all of our mokopuna."

The report

The report includes findings of widespread sexual, financial, and cultural abuse against about 30 percent of the 655,000 children, young people and adults in care from 1950 to 2019.

It details neglect and violence against those people, typically from the first day they were placed in care and for their entire experience of it. Māori and Pacific people were stripped of their culture, and disabled people were stripped of their dignity and autonomy.

Sexual abuse, medical abuse, solitary confinement, and conditions akin to slavery were all used as tools of control. Some 82 percent of the more than 2300 who spoke to the inquiry suffered sexual abuse. Male survivors reported higher levels of abuse than females, including sexual abuse.

The report estimates the overall cost to society of this abuse at between $96 billion and $217b, with the majority of this - up to $172b - borne by the survivors themselves. The average lifetime cost per survivor from loss of enjoyment of normal day-to-day activities was estimated at $875,000.

They told the inquiry they want care systems to fundamentally change, with power, funding and control handed to local communities. Faith-based institutions would exit the "business of care", and "out-of-whānau" care would become only a short-term measure to give the whānau time to receive support. Police would set up a dedicated team,

The report delivers 138 recommendations.

A small selection of quotes from the executive summary lays out a grim litany of the horrors of the care system:

"For some it was a lifetime; for others it led to an unmarked grave ... degraded because of their ethnicity and skin colour ... ableist, disablist and audist abuse ... sexual abuse was used to punish and intimidate ... sexually assaulted, raped and forced to perform sexual acts ... locked in areas with limited or no access to toilets and water ... survivors of disability care settings were exploited in sheltered workshops for minimal or no pay, or had their money taken by staff or caregivers ... in faith-based care settings, abuse was treated as a religious transgression ..."

"Many survivors died while they were in care or by suicide following care. For others, the impacts of abuse are ongoing and compounding, making everyday activities and choices challenging."

It is not just a systemic failing.

"The people who perpetrated abuse and neglect in State and faith-based care took advantage of their positions of power ... were rarely held to account for their actions or inactions, which emboldened them ... came from all walks of life and were frequently trusted and well-regarded ... institutional systems they operated in enabled abusers and institutions to abuse and neglect those in their care and act with impunity."

But importantly, the report finds, it is also a systemic failing.

"The State was ultimately responsible for the care system during the Inquiry period. This system was one of institutionalisation ... the State placed children, young people and adults in punitive, institutional settings that segregated and isolated them from their whānau and communities where they were out of sight and out of mind...

"Most of the factors that led or contributed to abuse and neglect during the Inquiry period continue to persist ... It has been minimised and covered up by the institutions responsible. Significant resources have been used to deny survivors their voice and to defend the indefensible. This must stop."

The report calls for "radical" change from the government.

• The full video of the debate in Parliament is available here