February 14, 2017
E Kore Ano inquiry critical for abused thousands
Manurewa MP Louisa Wall says state care is still damaging people, and a full inquiry is needed to find long term solutions.
The Government is resisting calls from iwi leaders, national organisations and the Human Rights Commission for an inquiry because it says it has got the problem in hand through its reform of the Child, Youth and Family Service.
But Ms Wall says of the more than 100,000 children and young people taken from their families from the 1950s through to the 1990s, only about 1000 have come forward to the government's confidential listening panel.
She says one law firm that is representing more than 700 people seeking compensation, the youngest just 18.
"We might say or think this is a historical issue but actually the abuse continues to be perpetrated against young people who are in the care of the state and we need an inquiry into the systemic issues to make sure to make sure we stop whatever happened historically from being repeated," Ms Wall says.
The Never Again. E Kore Ano campaign is just the next step in a long campaign by the victims of abuse to get justice.
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