New Zealand’s Leader Formally Apologizes to Survivors of Abuse in State and Church Care

TIME

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made a “formal and unreserved” apology in Parliament on Tuesday for the widespread abuse, torture and neglect of hundreds of thousands of children and vulnerable adults in care.

Transcript

00:00Today I stand before you as the representative of not only this government but of all the

00:05governments that have gone before us to offer a formal and unreserved apology for the abuse

00:11that you suffered while in state care, churches and other faith-based places.

00:17It was horrific, it was heartbreaking, it was wrong and it should never have happened.

00:29For many of you it changed the course of your life and for that the government must

00:34take responsibility.

00:36I am sorry that you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse.

00:43I am sorry that many bystanders, staff, volunteers and carers turned a blind eye and failed to

00:50stop or report abuse.

00:53Today is a hugely important day for all of you to finally hear what the Crown has failed

00:59to give you for all of these years, an apology.

01:04It's a hugely important day for us, the representatives of the Crown and of successive governments,

01:10that we finally, finally acknowledge the thousands of confronting experiences of neglect, abuse,

01:21trauma, torture and that we finally own up fully to our failings and offer our sincerest apologies.

01:32We are sorry.

Category

Transcript

Recommended