February 15, 2017
Answers needed on blighted childhood
The North Island whanau ora commissioning agency Te Pou Matakana is backing a call for an independent inquiry into the historic abuse of children and young people in state care.
Chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says the Never Again, E Kore Ano campaign reflects widespread public concern about what has been a hidden part of New Zealand's history.
The Government says no inquiry is needed because its overhaul of Child, Youth and Family will fix any problems.
But Mrs Raukawa-Tait says it's clear there was systemic abuse when the state decided it could bring up children better than their own families.
"Now we've got adults living in our country, men and women, who had a blighted childhood, and we are being asked to trust the government again and I am afraid this is a serious call by New Zealanders, and not just those in leadership positions. The majority of New Zealand want to know what happened, how did it happen, and will our children going into state care in future be safe," she says.
Merepeka Raukawa-Tait says the legacy of state care is a climate of domestic and social violence.
FULL INTERVIEW WITH MEREPEKA RAUKAWA TAIT
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