The calls for a national inquiry into child abuse in state care are growing louder, as are the demands for a public apology, but the Government is refusing to budge.

In the final part of the ODT Insight series, "A State of Abuse", Chris Morris considers the case for justice.

New Zealand's broken children need to hear the State say sorry.

And the State needs a national inquiry to ensure what happened to thousands of New Zealand’s most vulnerable children can never be repeated.

That is the view of Prof Mark Henaghan, the dean of the University of Otago’s faculty of law, when asked about the Government’s response to child abuse in state care.

Prof Henaghan was among prominent New Zealanders to sign an open letter from the Human Rights Commission to Prime Minister Bill English calling for an inquiry and apology.

Asked why, Prof Henaghan told ODT Insight there was "unrefutable and undeniable" evidence children had been abused — psychologically, violently and sexually — in the State’s care.

Their treatment was not just the result of a few bad individuals, but the consequence of a system that allowed it to happen.

The victims needed a public apology that acknowledged the "terrible, terrible things" they endured.

But until a state inquiry examined exactly how such abuses were allowed to continue for so long, the victims would not have justice, he said.

"These were young, vulnerable people who were put in [state care] through no choice of their own, because things weren’t good for them at home, and they ended up paying the consequences later on.

"As a society, we didn’t care about them then, and we don’t care about them now if we do nothing.

"They were treated badly and we should do something about it," he said.

Prof Mark Henaghan. Photo: Peter McIntosh.

It is a call that has echoed around Wellington in recent days, since 200 people — many of them victims of violence and abuse in the State’s care — gathered on the steps of Parliament to send a message.

They shared harrowing stories of mistreatment before handing over a 5300-name petition and the HRC’s open letter, signed by 10,000 New Zealanders, calling for an inquiry and apology.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei was there to accept the documents, and Labour, the Greens, United Future and the Maori Party have all thrown their weight behind the campaign.

Only National has so far refused to sign up, and there was no sign of Social Development Minister Anne Tolley at the rally.

Instead, Prime Minister Bill English — who previously insisted the Government knew enough about the problem to fix it — has been left dropping hints of a stance that might yet soften, but is yet to do so.

And so the wait goes on.

It is a fight for justice that has dragged on for decades for those abused as children in state care.

Between 1950 and 1980, more than 100,000 children — many of them Maori — and vulnerable adults were placed in state institutions, including special live-in schools, foster homes and psychiatric hospitals.

Many faced horrific acts of violence and sexual abuse, including in Otago at Campbell Park School, the Dunedin Boys’ Home, Cherry Farm Hospital and the Seacliff asylum.

Since 2004, the Government has paid out $24.4million to settle 1400 claims, and offered private apologies to those who accepted payments.

But nearly 800 more claims remain unresolved and advocates suggest many more victims are not yet ready to come forward.

And, unlike other Western countries, New Zealand is yet to hold a formal inquiry into the extent of child abuse in state care and its causes.

The United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada have all committed to inquiries, as has Australia, where a final report from its Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse is due by the end of the year.

New Zealand has taken a different path, in 2008 launching the Confidential Listening and Assistance Service (CLAS), which provides a forum for victims to come forward and share their stories.

About 1100 have been brave enough to do so, and 57% of them say they were sexually abused while in state care.

The levels of violence, abuse and neglect were "alarming", but many more victims were yet to be heard, the CLAS final report, entitled Some Memories Never Fade, concluded in 2015.

That included people with intellectual disabilities and prison inmates, 40% of whom came from state care, it said.

Despite that, the report concluded ‘‘the most shocking thing’’ was that much of the abuse was preventable.

"If people had been doing their jobs properly and if proper systems had been in place, much of this abuse could have been avoided with better oversight."

It recommended a "public statement" by the Government, acknowledging the wrongs of the past, but stopped short of calling for a formal inquiry.

"We have made a difference but more is needed and needed urgently. The people told us ... they want systemic change and a public acknowledgement of the wrongs of the past.

"Thus far they have had neither."

But, contacted by ODT Insight this month, CLAS chairwoman Judge Carolyn Henwood said her view had shifted.

She now backed calls for a formal inquiry, largely because the Ministry of Social Development’s response to her 2015 report had been "horrific".

The MSD, in its written response to the report, had concluded a public apology was "not supported" because "the majority of children in [state] care did not suffer abuse".

Based on claims received, it estimated about 3.5% of children in state care had been abused.

The Government offered individual apologies with settlements, but there was "no evidence that the care systems were universally broken".

Judge Henwood said the MSD response was "quite devastating" and prompted her to support an inquiry.

The number of children abused would be "way higher" than 3.5%, but would not be known unless there was a formal inquiry, she said.

Evidence of systemic failings that led to abuse would not be found either, unless the State was prepared to look, she said.

"There are a lot of independent issues that have caused this to come about ... but if you don’t inquire into it, I don’t think you can say you know.

"All you know is the damage that was caused — not why."

It is an argument that has so far failed to sway the National-led Government.Prime Minister Bill English previously insisted a formal inquiry was not needed, as the extent of the problem was already "pretty well known".

An inquiry would make little difference to children now in state care, but could divert much-needed resources away.

The Government’s focus was on settling claims and rectifying past mistakes, including through the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children.

But, as pressure from victims, their families and advocates mounts, the Government’s stance has begun to shift.

Last November, Mrs Tolley ruled out a universal apology, saying there was no evidence abuse in state care was systemic.

Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett told the House "there has been systemic abuse", while defending the Government’s response and denying an inquiry was needed.

Then, last week, Mr English went further, saying: "If there are additional steps to be taken which can help them [victims], then we’re interested in that."

Prof Henaghan, the dean of the University of Otago’s faculty of law, said action could not come soon enough.

"It’s not until you expose these things publicly that the people realise how bad we can be.

"Even though it was the norm in those days, we don’t want it to be the norm ever again."

chris.morris@odt.co.nz

Arguments for inquiry

Sonja Cooper — Wellington lawyer specialising in abuse claims.

Wellington lawyer Sonja Cooper has more than 700 clients alleging mistreatment in the State’s care.

Each provided a piece of evidence pointing to a systemic problem that led to violence, sexual abuse and neglect, she said.But the claims were just the tip of an iceberg and many more victims were yet to come forward, she said.

The Government’s "head in the sand approach" to historic abuse appeared to be motivated by a desire to save money, avoid embarrassment and to "just get on with it", she said.

A formal inquiry was needed to identify lessons from the past and ensure a better future for children, she said.

"We actually haven’t put right the past yet."

Dunedin survivor Darryl Smith.

Darryl Smith says the New Zealand Government needs to "show some mana" to put right the abuses of the past.

Mr Smith, of Dunedin, was sexually abused in state care in New Zealand and Australia, but found "a wee bit of closure" by participating in Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Abuse.

New Zealand needed to follow suit by launching its own inquiry, allowing more people tell their stories and raise the public’s awareness of what happened.It would also help ensure more people were held accountable, along with the system itself, he said.

"New Zealand needs to step up — step up and be strong, and form a royal commission like they do in Australia and England and everywhere else."

Milton survivor Gene Browne.

Gene Browne wants to hear the State say sorry.

The Milton man has spent most of his adult life in prison since being sexually abused at the Dunedin Boys’ Home and other state institutions.

He was "not too worried" about seeking a financial settlement, but said he would like to hear the State apologise to victims.

A formal inquiry would also help bring more offenders to justice, he believed.

"I wouldn’t mind getting some of those fellas prosecuted for what they’ve done," he said.

Dugal Armour — Otago branch manager, Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse.

The Government is "inadvertently perpetuating abuse" by refusing to publicly apologise for historic mistreatment of children in its care.

That is the view of Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Otago branch manager Dugal Armour, whose group has about 30 men on its books.All were victims of historic sexual abuse, including while in state care, but many never got to hear their abuser say sorry.

"Very few abusers or perpetrators ever take responsibility for what’s actually happened. The hardest journey for people recovering is that they have to do it on their own.

"The Government taking some step to acknowledge and to apologise I think would help in their healing," he said.

Jacinda Ardern — Labour deputy leader.

Labour's deputy leader Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand still needs a ‘‘national conversation’’ about historic abuse in state care.

Labour was among parties on both sides of the House — except National — throwing its weight behind calls for a formal inquiry and public apology.

Ms Ardern said she "totally disagreed" with Prime Minister Bill English’s claim enough was known about the problem.

The Confidential Listening and Assistance Service "didn’t finish the job", and many victims were yet to share their stories, she said.

An inquiry could dig into the details of historic abuse in state care and help right the wrongs of the past, she said.

"But someone has to be bold enough to start that process."

Bill Kilgallon — director, Catholic Church New Zealand’s National Office for Professional Standards.

The Catholic Church might be on the fence when it comes to a formal inquiry into historic child abuse in New Zealand, but Bill Kilgallon is not.

Mr Kilgallon directs the Catholic Church office tasked with investigating child abuse claims within the church in New Zealand.

The church’s official position was that any decision on an inquiry was the Government’s to make, but Mr Kilgallon said his own view was an inquiry would be "of real benefit to the individuals who went through that".

He had "no doubt" it would identify "systemic issues that led to that situation, and led to the abuse that many people experienced".

"Are there lessons to be learnt from where things went wrong in the past? In my experience, there often are."

It would also help victims looking for "some way of understanding what’s happened to them in their lives — to tell their story and have it believed".

"An inquiry can do that because it can listen to people ... and it can reflect then on what went wrong and apply those lessons for the future."

Anne Tolley.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley is too busy to be interviewed by the Otago Daily Times about historic abuse in state care, her office says.

And she did not want to answer tough questions put to her by ODT Insight, either.

Requests to interview Ms Tolley were made on June 29 and July 3, but the following day her staff declined, saying Ms Tolley had "a really busy diary with meetings and legislation".

They offered a written statement instead, in which Ms Tolley defended the "very good system in place to assist those who have grievances".

That included the CLAS process, fast-tracked claim settlements and individual apologies, as well as the new Ministry for Vulnerable Children, which would put children and young people’s safety and wellbeing first, she said.

A further request on July 6, asking for an interview any time in the next week and a-half, was also rejected.

Ms Tolley’s staff said she was not available, as "with the next two weeks being recess she’s out and about each day doing engagements".

ODT Insight also sent Ms Tolley a list of written questions, including asking for her view on the extent of abuse in state care, its impact on society, whether the State accepted responsibility and why it would not offer a public apology or commit to a formal inquiry.

Her staff responded by email, saying Ms Tolley had "nothing further to add".

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