NEW ZEALAND
Radio NZ
November 12, 2018
By Chris Bramwell
The Government’s inquiry into the abuse of children in state care will be expanded to include the abuse of children in the care of religious institutions.
The Inquiry is to be called the Royal Commission into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-Based Institutions, to reflect its expanded scope.
The Royal Commission was formally established in February to be chaired by the former Govenor-General Sir Anand Satyanand, with the terms of reference, budget and additional inquiry members to be announced after consultation and Cabinet approval.
Its initial scope was to cover circumstances where the state directly ran institutions like child welfare institutions, borstals or psychiatric hospitals, and where the government contracted services out to other institutions, but as of today that will be expanded to include children in the care of faith-based institutions
Religious groups and church abuse survivors have been lobbying to be included in the inquiry since it was announced.
It will begin hearing evidence from January next year with the first interim report, which will be focussed on state care, to be reported back by the end of 2020.
A final report containing the Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations will be submitted to the Governor-General in January 2023.
The Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, said it was critical the Government got the Royal Commission right and the scope and purpose of the Inquiry has been carefully considered.
“Today paves the way for us to confront a dark chapter of our national history by acknowledging what happened to people in state care, and in the care of faith-based institutions, and to learn the lessons for the future.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.