Tuesday, 20 February 2024

Motions

Apology for past care leavers

Lizzie BLANDTHORN (Western Metropolitan – Minister for Children, Minister for Disability) (15:40): I move:

That the Council take note of the parliamentary apology to Victorians who experienced historical abuse and neglect as children in institutional care.

Last sitting week we met to apologise to people who, as children, lived in institutional care prior to 1990. As the Premier rightfully said, ‘This was a shameful chapter in our history.’ We were joined in Parliament by nearly 200 people who lived in state care as children and who experienced abuse and neglect as children in that institutional state care. People travelled from across Victoria and interstate to be here, and it was a great privilege to join fellow members of Parliament in welcoming them to Parliament House. It was also a great privilege to personally spend some hours with them following the apology, listening to their experiences and their reflections, as I have had the opportunity to do on many an occasion as an individual, as a member of Parliament and as a minister both inside and outside of this place over many years.

I am always touched by the gracious way in which often the gravest of experiences are shared so that we may promote a common understanding. As well as the people who joined us in Parliament House, many others watched from regional gatherings in Geelong, Ballarat and Sale and at other live stream events in Victoria or online. For many people it was an opportunity for personal reflection and for healing. For some people it was a chance to reconnect and a chance to catch up with others they had shared childhood experiences with. I also know from those who have spoken with us that some groups are planning future reunion events already where they will screen the apology and the speeches. This indeed itself is an important reminder that we need to keep having these conversations, we need to keep creating these opportunities for people to advance their own healing and we always need to be ready to listen.

I would like to reiterate that this important apology is due in no small part to the tireless advocacy of survivors and their supporters over many, many years. By telling their stories and sharing their experiences, survivors and their supporters have ensured that this dark chapter in our history is acknowledged and that it is addressed. Because of organisations like Care Leavers Australasia Network, Open Place, Alliance for Forgotten Australians, Child Migrants Trust, Connecting Home and many others as well as individuals, people have had a safe place to go for understanding, for care and for support. We are here today discussing the apology and moving this take-note motion because many people fought for recognition, and they fought for an apology – people like Leonie Sheedy, Sue Whittington-Stevens, Heather Bell, Robert House, Frank Golding and Joanna Penglase; people like Gordon Hill, Boris Kaspiev, Caroline Carroll, Ian Hamm, Andrew Bickerdike and Dr Margaret Humphreys. As the Premier said, just as the shame for past actions is ours, the pride in taking action towards restoration and healing belongs to these people and those who surround them.

I also want to acknowledge and remember the Victorians who died waiting for an apology. Many of the people who gathered at this place on 8 February wore an armband with the name of someone who was not able to be there. They are remembered, and we all hope and pray that they rest in peace.

This apology was a historic and powerful acknowledgement of a shameful chapter in our state’s history, when thousands of children experienced abuse and neglect after being entrusted to the state, to religious organisations and to charitable agencies. Before 1990 more than 90,000 children were placed in institutional care in Victoria. Many children experienced harm at the hands of those who were indeed trusted to protect them and care for them. The abuse and neglect of children was physical, it was psychological and it was emotional. The grief and the trauma stay with survivors as adults, with many experiencing disadvantage as a result of the abuse that they experienced as children. The burden is a weight carried through life, often impacting on relationships with partners, with children and with family. I have heard that one woman who attended the apology plans to keep a copy to show her family to help them understand her childhood. We know that for some their own experiences meant that they never actually had the opportunity to have their own family. Healing from childhood trauma will never be easy and it is never complete, but having the state apologise is indeed an important first step for people who have suffered abuse and neglect. People told me that they felt included by the apology offered by the Premier because it accurately described their childhood experiences and the impact that those experiences had on the rest of their lives.

One thing that we know about childhood trauma is that every person’s healing journey is different, and sometimes it can take years before somebody is ready to talk about their past. I have been told about some people who attended the apology screenings who had not previously discussed their childhood trauma and were not aware of the various supports that could have been available to them. For these people and for others the apology may be the start of their journey towards peace.

The apology was more than just words read in this place. It reflects the real experiences of thousands of Victorian children last century, but really not that long ago, with impacts that continue to resonate throughout our society today, and the importance of this apology cannot be underestimated for people who were neglected, for people who were forgotten and for people who were excluded from society as children and then by extension as adults. Many people told me that they were particularly moved when the Premier said:

… the shame does not belong to you. It is ours. It was always ours, and it always will be ours. Today is about reclaiming that shame, lifting its weight from your shoulders and holding it up to the light – and in its place a sense of pride, pride in the bright and beautiful children that you were and pride in the strong and courageous adults that you have become, in the fight that you have led, in the heart that you have shown, in your determination to make sure it never happens again.

I think those words resonated with so many people not just because they are true but because they demonstrate the transformative opportunity that this apology represents. The apology is an opportunity for restorative engagement. It is an opportunity for healing and acknowledgement of those institutions that harmed children or indeed oversaw their harm.

To those Victorians who experienced this abuse and neglect our government has committed to providing ongoing support. We fund the Care Leavers Australasia Network and Open Place, who provide counselling, advocacy and other supports, and indeed the Victorian redress scheme is part of this commitment. The scheme is for people who experienced physical, psychological and emotional abuse and neglect in historical institutional care. The Victorian government has a commitment to co-designing this scheme with people with lived experience and to drawing on the models of other similar schemes.

Until the new scheme begins, advance redress payments of $10,000 are available. These payments are for people who were physically, psychologically or emotionally abused or neglected as children in institutional care in Victoria before 1990 and who are now terminally or critically ill. Since applications opened on 17 November last year many payments have already been made. The co-design process for the Victorian redress scheme is set to begin soon, and until the scheme does begin the advance redress payments will continue to be available. This scheme will build on support currently available through the national redress scheme set up after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Victorian government continues to participate in the national redress scheme, which recognises children who were sexually abused.

In conclusion, we thank those who have shared their experiences with us, and personally I thank those who have shared their experiences with me as an individual, as a member of this place and as the minister. And as I said at the outset, I am always struck by the gracious way in which those experiences are shared so that we may all forge towards a common understanding.

We, the Parliament, unreservedly and unanimously apologise to those who suffered abuse in care. But apologies require action, and as the Premier stated, the next step requires a commitment to doing more, a commitment to doing better to protect Victoria’s children, in the past, in the present and in the future. This is a commitment that as Minister for Children and as a mother I feel intensely, and I support the motion in the house.

Georgie CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (15:49): I rise to speak in support of the government’s motion. We did come as a Parliament and hear the apology and the words spoken by the Premier and by the Leader of the Opposition, and it was a very moving day for many, many people who were in the gallery and in Queen’s Hall and who were watching online.

On 13 November 2013 I said in this house, in this place:

The criminal abuse of children is a fundamental breach of the values of our community. It involves unlawful physical assaults, sexual abuse offences and the criminal neglect of children. Children cannot be expected to protect themselves from crimes such as these within organisations, and it is up to us as a community to take greater responsibility in safeguarding their wellbeing.

That was over a decade ago, when I had the privilege of tabling Betrayal of Trust, the landmark inquiry that this Parliament undertook into child abuse in non-government organisations. Many of the people that came before that committee, which commenced in 2011 and which the Baillieu government instigated, were sitting in the gallery and in the hall last week. It was a moving moment in a number of ways for me, because it took me back to those times when we sat and we heard from so many people – hundreds – who came bravely forward and told of their abuse. Those people did come, in many instances, from orphanages, from within a church – abuse occurred within churches and other organisations – and from other voluntary organisations. The abuse was widespread. They wanted the acknowledgement. When I handed down the speech in this place over a decade ago, these seats and the gallery were full to the brim and Queen’s Hall was full. It evoked that memory again of what we achieved.

I went on to say when I delivered that speech, after this very extensive process that we undertook, that the recommendations were there to assist and that they were intended to provide an umbrella of protections. I said:

Our recommendations are intended to provide an umbrella of protections from the consequences of the heinous crime of child abuse that people in positions of authority have facilitated either through their actions or their inaction. While we acknowledge we cannot repair the irreparable damage that has beset so many, our recommendations are designed to create an easier path for victims in their pursuit of justice.

When I looked back on that report when I was looking at this motion – there was a lot of material that we uncovered and we spoke of and we wrote about – there was one part that struck me. We talked about the large number of victims of criminal abuse who came before the inquiry, and we titled this chapter ‘Unfinished business’:

The Committee found that victims, their families and communities felt they had not achieved justice and had unresolved issues with the organisation due to following factors:

double betrayal – inconsistent approaches to victims and offenders

hypocrisy – claims of moral authority

lack of accountability – refusal to accept responsibility.

They were consistent themes that we heard, and last week, when I saw some of those people that came before our inquiry, I was reminded of all of those elements. There was somebody in that crowd who I particularly was thrilled to see there, understanding that his mother had been in an orphanage and he was there on her behalf to hear the apology. That was a wonderful moment. It was a very emotional moment, and it was wonderful to see that he was there. But there were many others that I spoke to throughout the day, as I know many members of Parliament did.

In my concluding remarks, I made the comments:

… I believe our inquiry marks the beginning. We have not only listened but we have heard. This is our report. I trust it gives the community an opportunity to set a new benchmark for the future protection of Victoria’s children.

I make that point because it was the beginning; it really started so much around this awful, awful issue that governments at both a federal and a state level and across the nation and across the world are grappling with. I was very proud of the work we did. It did spark the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse at a national level, and I was pleased to be able to speak to those commissioners who were undertaking that and for them to see the work that we did. They based a lot of their work on the findings from what this Parliament did.

I support the government’s motion around this issue. As I said, our report marked the beginning. There is a lot of work that has been done. That was over a decade ago. The government is obviously lauding what they have brought into the Parliament. But let us not forget where this all started. It started largely with the work of this Parliament over a decade ago. I want to acknowledge all of those victims that came before that committee at that time and all of those people that have been greatly affected and were able to help us with the commencement of what has been some progress in this area. I think the community understands exactly the work that is being done and the very significant reforms that were recommended in our report and that have been implemented. Let us not forget there are many vulnerable children out there that are not getting the proper care or support, and they too are at risk of sliding off the edge if we do not as a government and community wrap our arms around them and protect them as well. Far too many are still being abused in care even whilst the government has that responsibility.

I again say to all those victims and to all those people, whether they are the forgotten Australians, those from Open Place, care leavers – all of those that were involved and have been working on this for many, many years with their tireless efforts – I am hoping this will give them some comfort with what was achieved over a decade ago to what was spoken about in the Parliament just last week.

Sonja TERPSTRA (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (15:57): I rise to also speak on this motion in the chamber that was read in earlier this morning by the Honourable Lizzie Blandthorn, Minister for Children, in regard to this matter. It regards and relates to the many thousands of children that were taken into state care by various iterations of Victorian governments over many decades. Firstly, I would like to reflect on the Premier’s apology given and delivered by the Honourable Jacinta Allan in the other place on 8 February, which recognised the hurt, abuse and neglect that many children suffered as a result of being placed into institutional care.

Before 1990 more than 90,000 children were placed into institutional care in Victoria. Many experienced abuse and neglect rather than the love and the care they were all so deserving to receive. There have been reported cases of abuse, neglect and often cruelty – acts towards children who were always powerless, not deserving of such treatment and completely at the whim of adults who perpetrated acts of what can only be described as psychological, sexual and/or physical violence upon those children who were placed into our care.

For that too I say I am deeply sorry to all children who suffered at the hands of abusers in Victorian state care. I say this: what happened to you was wrong. The things that happened to you should not have happened. Action should have been taken then and there to protect you when you were vulnerable and needed protection. It did not happen. Not only is the lack of action inexplicable and unacceptable, it highlights the historical closing of ranks that we too often see to protect institutions and perhaps even the reputations of the people running them at all costs rather than root out unspeakable acts of evil and those who perpetrate them. We also know that some of the children taken into state care were targeted simply because of their class or background: single mothers or mothers from a poor, working-class background, or fathers who were struggling to reacquaint themselves with civilian life after returning from acting service – all a shameful and disgraceful episode in Victoria’s history. For all these reasons it is important that governments own this, and for this we say sorry.

The Premier in her speech gave voice to and shed light on just a few examples of children who experienced abuse and neglect at the hands of abusers who were responsible for providing state care for children. The stories were well articulated by the Premier, and I was moved to tears on hearing about the lived experiences of many. There are just a few that I want to repeat here, because they stood out to me as being heart-wrenching; they cannot be described as anything else. Heather ran away from St Catherine’s girls home in Geelong when she was only nine years old just to be reunited with her mother after she was removed – nine years old, just nine. A child of this age should be playing with friends, exploring and doing all the things that nine-year-old children should be doing. But Heather displayed immense courage by running away and huddling under a bridge overnight before finding her way back to her mother’s house. She was, sadly, returned to the home, because her mother did not have a choice. The institutions had all the power, and so did the authorities. This is unspeakably sad. Simply because Heather’s mother was regarded by authorities as a ‘garrulous woman’ – in other words, a poor, working-class person – she was targeted. Heather was told by the authorities ‘You’ve come from the gutter’ and ‘You’ll never amount to anything.’ Sadly, Heather’s sister Evelyn also died, from untreated rheumatic fever, when she was just eight years old. This is an unspeakable tragedy. It is inexplicable that this could happen to a young child in state care. But it did happen, and it is not the only story and example of this that happened.

As I said earlier, Heather and Evelyn’s story is just one example of many. They are heart-wrenching. I do not have the time to go into all the other examples, but I do want to name just a few that the Premier spoke of. I want to give a name and a voice to those children who for so long had no name and no voice. There was Barry and his twin brother Graham. There was Saundra. There were Terry, Lenny, Beth, Lyn and so many others. Even just recounting these stories causes great distress, but it pales in comparison to that of those who suffered years of abuse and neglect.

As a human species we all evolve, as we should. We should continue to learn, grow and develop a better understanding and empathise with the plight of others who have suffered as a result of unspeakable acts. We are now better educated about the long-term and ongoing impacts that trauma has on people. It is not only about what happened at a particular point in time. We know that traumatic events can and often do impact young people and then affect them as adults for their lifetime. Trauma can be generational and intergenerational. It can be passed down to the next generation of family members and continue to cause ongoing pain for others. Abuse, neglect and violence leave an indelible mark on not only those that directly experience it but also their siblings and children, impacting immediate and extended families. That is why not only was it an important and historic occasion to sit in the chamber in the other place and be part of the Premier’s apology to children who were in state care, but it was incredibly heartwarming and important to hear about the steps the Victorian government is taking, and will be taking, to ensure that people who suffered abuse, violence and neglect at the hands of institutions that were charged with caring for those children will ultimately be provided for by the state government.

By way of background, in October 2022 the Victorian Premier at that time announced a redress scheme for Victorians who were placed into state care, otherwise known as the pre-1990 care leavers scheme. But the Victorian government is now planning to do more, and as was previously advised, there will be a new Victorian care leavers redress scheme, which is currently under development and will be co-designed with Victorians who grew up in institutional care. The scheme will build on support available through the national redress scheme, which was set up after the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Until the new scheme begins, the Victorian government is providing advance redress payments of $10,000 to people who were physically, psychologically or emotionally abused or neglected as children in institutional care in Victoria before 1990 and who are now critically or terminally ill. Whilst this scheme will go some way to addressing the needs of those people who suffer from ongoing trauma arising from being in state care by paying their way financially for medical and other expenses, it cannot rewrite history and it cannot right wrongs.

I want to pay tribute to the many Victorians who were in state care who spent many years advocating for their rights, which was often a thankless, frustrating and soul-destroying task, and the resilience many of you showed in persisting because you knew how important it was to find your voice. Even after so many years of being disbelieved, refused, disregarded, dismissed and forgotten, you found your voice, and for that I say thank you. You are making sure that all of the collective efforts you have made in bringing this issue to light are not in vain. The deaths of those who came before you, those who could not be here to share in this victory, should not be forgotten. Their stories and their lives are important, and they certainly count.

I have a few short minutes on the clock, but I will conclude by saying I thank those Victorians who persisted. As I said, it must have been incredibly difficult, and I know it has taken years if not decades to finally bring this matter to a conclusion. I do thank those Victorians. I am in awe of their resilience after years of struggle – and in some cases those Victorians were unable to survive. Again, I say thank you. I am grateful for the work the Victorian government is doing in this space. I know it will go some way towards providing care for those Victorians who will need it in their time of need. It is an important lesson for all of us who are on the government benches and who may be in government in the future to ensure that we never again allow these sorts of circumstances to happen. I know we have put in place many things to actively prevent these sorts of things, but it is important when we have these sorts of complaints to ensure that we act on them and that these circumstances do not happen again.

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (16:07): Today I, along with my colleagues in the coalition, rise in the Legislative Council to acknowledge the heartfelt moment and join with the government and fellow parliamentarians in support of the historic apology given in the other place on 8 February. This apology is for the many Australians and Victorians who experienced abuse and neglect as children in institutional care, for the many lives that were impacted because they did not get the protection and care they deserved while in various forms of out-of-home care. On behalf of our coalition and all of us, we humbly acknowledge the apology without reservation. Thousands of vulnerable little ones and young people, unable to adequately defend or protect themselves, suffered abuse, exploitation and neglect, and for that, on behalf of all of us, I reiterate and extend a genuine, heartfelt apology.

Over 90,000 children were placed in institutions like orphanages and children’s homes and the like. Many suffered terribly. Childhood traumas and experiences have a way of impacting who we are today. The suffering of so many who were raised in Victoria and lost contact with loved ones is innumerable. Single parents, mothers and fathers lost contact with their children. Children lost contact with their brothers and sisters because the family was poor or in difficult circumstances or unable to adequately provide for them. Records often cite neglect as grounds for removal, but what took place while in care for many was far more traumatic than the challenges of the identified neglect they experienced at home. Losing a parent or both can be challenging enough, but to be separated from siblings, a remaining parent, extended family members and the family home – for many, this was an additional torture. Many of the people I have talked to spoke about how it fragmented relationships or even prevented knowledge of siblings, and some – some of the lucky ones – were only able to find their siblings and re-establish their relationships with them in the later years of their life.

Even if grounds for removing children or placing them in care had been warranted, what was not and shall never be warranted is the abuse, exploitation and neglect that so many suffered. I remember one of the so-called orphanages or homes in a Melbourne suburb where a local camp bus dropped off fellow kids and fellow campers. One year I shared a camp cabin with a young girl from one of these homes. As a child I remember thinking that what was happening to this girl, as she shared in confidence a little of her life one night, was wrong. It was so different from the loving, protective home I lived in with my parents. I was younger than the girl, but as a child I remembered that the little girl in my cabin was highly sexualised, had no boundaries and demonstrated no sense of personal dignity, self-worth or self-respect. It never occurred to her that she could say no to anyone for anything. She was deeply unhappy, desperate for love but unwilling to let anyone close enough to truly befriend her. Her story is not an isolated circumstance.

After the apology motion in the other house a morning tea was provided for the guests, and I took the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the brave people who attended. Many survivors shared aspects of their life experiences and why they were in Parliament to hear the apology. Some attended on behalf of loved ones watching at home, and sadly others were there for those who are incapacitated or not alive today. Others still – many in fact – were there for themselves and their siblings.

This apology is important because we need to validate each victim as the precious human being that they are. I say to them on behalf of all of us: you are not forgotten. We need you to know that we see you, we have heard you, and we, representing Parliament, government policies, decisions and institutions under government watch, are genuinely sorry for the pain you endured.

I have heard testimonies of beatings, of humiliation and of exploitation. Many spoke of family separation, verbal, physical and even sexual abuse. Often they gave the stories of others. Some personal memories were too painful, and they spoke of how they had overcome the pain and what they were doing with their life. One lady became a writer and has received awards for her true stories of her institutionalised life, but she said she could not write about the most personal, the most abusive, stories for the memories were still too real and painful so many decades after they happened. Every story of human suffering – of our most vulnerable children and young people – tore at the fabric of my humanity and my instincts as a mother of four children. In fact when I tried to recall some of the stories for this speech, I found that with the trauma of what I had listened to I had blocked out different parts and I had not been able to write it down, so some of the stories became scrambled in my memory because it really was upsetting to listen to.

But there is a little bit of one that I can remember, and I asked the lady to please forgive me if I do not entirely get it exactly right. She told me the story of when she first entered into institutionalised care. She was a little girl, somewhere between 4 or 5, maybe 6 at most. It was her first week, and she wet the bed. She said that in this particular place of care when children wet the bed they were taken into the dining room and their sheets were hung out in front of everybody, where all the children in the room having their breakfast would cry out, ‘Shame! Shame! Shame!’ – on the little child that had wet the bed. Not wanting that to happen to her, having obviously witnessed it for another child, she clung onto everything she could and onto that sheet to prevent herself being dragged to that room. In the process she was continually beaten as she was taken into the dining room, but before she could get to the door preventing her from going in, having taken a lot of the beating, another person working there took pity on her and said she had suffered enough. That is one of the few stories that I can recount to you. There were so many that were so deep and so dramatic, and all of them show how these young people were made to feel ashamed of who they were. You know, I passed the tissue box more than once as I listened to the stories of these people and painfully marvelled at the ability of these survivors, who were incredible, just to have even turned up. Sadly, many were not able to be there. I can tell you that just being around these people and hearing their stories and having the compassion of a mother, or just a human being, my heart has never hurt so much.

So I want to say on behalf of all of us to all of you who needed to hear this apology that you are all remarkable people. Each one of you is unique. Each one of you is precious. You did not deserve the ill-treatment. I know what happened to so many of the abused – it destroyed large fabrics of your personality and of your life. You were wronged.

As an adult having worked in housing case management for young people, I worked in the space where organisations provide a safe place for our homeless youth and often fought for changes that were sometimes not considered or were perhaps considered too late. This apology does not compensate for the suffering of child abuse, exclusion, isolation, sexual abuse, exploitation or separation from siblings, and it does not give back a full life to the people who have been hurt. It does not fully compensate for how this has impacted their lives and the lives of those who they know and love or those who live with the survivors. But what would be tragic is if another Victorian government found they needed to apologise again one day – if we found there were not significant changes to protect the welfare of children, minors and young people in the care of our government. Without vigilant action, continuing reforms and input from those who suffered and shared their stories with us so that we could learn, there will continue to be more human suffering of our vulnerable young people. Changes need to be made. They need to be made often and with considerable transparency.

To the many whose lives were harmed while in care: my heart goes out to you, and we stand with you in your pain. I applaud your ability to be able to live as best you can. And to those who are reaching out to so many people in this situation and working to bring healing in this space, some of whom were victims themselves but have survived in ways that were perhaps better than their siblings, family members or friends or simply enough to have something left to be able to use their experience to help others, we say thank you – thank you on behalf of the Liberal–National coalition. And to those who have suffered and those who continue to suffer, we in the Legislative Council acknowledge the apology made and support the apology motion.

Jacinta ERMACORA (Western Victoria) (16:18): I want to speak in support – and wholehearted support – of Premier Jacinta Allan’s apology to Victorians who experienced harm in state care, specifically between 1928 and 1990. I just have a few brief remarks, really.

Families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Whilst our dominant cultural perceptions are of a family where there is a mum and a dad and children, the reality is that there are much more diverse scenarios – and joyful diversity – than that. We have individual parents and children; we have gay and lesbian couples and children; we have grandparents parenting grandchildren; and we have many other variations – even family units where no-one is actually a blood relative but they are a family unit absolutely. The breakdown or splitting up of any family unit can occur for a range of reasons. If we look back in history, we could look at war, natural disasters, the death of a family member, family violence, sexual assault or relationship breakdown; they are just a few examples. But during the period we are talking about some families were broken up due to poverty or even broken up on false pretences. Children were not told why, never knowing who they were related to or if their family was even still alive. Whilst the establishment of state care was perhaps well intended on the whole, it was often misguided – loaded, as others have said, with judgement about poverty, judgement about health status or judgement about homelessness or abuse and often loaded with care strategies that bore absolutely no relationship to the needs of the children impacted. I want to say unequivocally that in none of these circumstances is it or was it ever the fault of the child involved. Family break-up, whether voluntary or forced, is never the fault of the child.

In closing, we do owe an apology to people impacted negatively and harmfully by the provision of state care. I want to reiterate the absolute respect and awe that I have for the people who were in Queen’s Hall and in the lower house chamber during our joint sitting last sitting week, and I thank them for coming forward on that day and standing up and proudly saying that they were negatively affected. I also want to acknowledge the comments of Ms Crozier, because often with many, many achievements in a chamber such as this there is groundwork. You could certainly say that about train upgrades and a lot of the work that this government is doing; it is built on the Bracks–Brumby governments. But in this case I think that Ms Crozier raised a really good point: that these journeys start somewhere, and often there are many, many ingredients to achieving a form of acknowledgement and respect and many, many ingredients to restitution. That is the journey that we as a government and we as a Parliament start at this point, or started two weeks ago. I congratulate everybody who has spoken on this, I congratulate the Premier for her beautiful words of apology and I congratulate all of those impacted that we are talking about today.

Moira DEEMING (Western Metropolitan) (16:24): I rise to join my parliamentary colleagues today in acknowledging and apologising for a shameful chapter in the history of our state. All adults have a responsibility to ensure that our society is one where children are protected. If there is one job that we have as adults, that would be it – to ensure that children’s rights to enjoy their own childhoods and their own families are not trampled on by the state or allowed to be trampled upon by organisations driven by ideology rather than evidence. We have heard how the state government took thousands of children from their families, from their siblings and from their parents and then failed to protect them from neglectful and abusive situations in the kinship care system, state homes, religious organisations and charitable agencies. We have heard that all of these things may have started with good intentions, but when they were not followed up properly, devastation followed in their wake.

I would like to echo the words of Premier Allan, who did give a wonderful speech, and say to all of those children who were abused and neglected during their time in state-sanctioned so-called care, we humbly and unreservedly apologise. We acknowledge and apologise for the fact that so often your parents were unfairly demonised by the state so that so-called experts could take charge of your life. And yet, when the state failed to safeguard your bodies and your minds with lax policies, poor record keeping and wilful ignorance of evidence, you yourselves were often unfairly demonised as well, rather than apologised to. The scars that you bore were not only physical but emotional and psychological. The traumas and the family separations and all the damage that was done are irreversible. We know that there are children in state care today under the expert guidance of other so-called experts who are also suffering and being harmed. We have heard about all the wonderful things this government is trying to do to catch up and make sure that these kinds of things do not happen again, but we must never let our guards down. I look forward to working together to make sure that nothing like this can never happen again.

John BERGER (Southern Metropolitan) (16:26): I rise to speak on the Premier’s recent apology to Victorians who have endured historical abuse and neglect in institutional care, and in doing so I acknowledge the suffering that these Victorians have endured in state institutional care and acknowledge the experience of many survivors who have fought for so long to be heard.

Over the course of a century thousands of Victorian children were entrusted to the state and sent to orphanages, foster homes, children’s homes, missions and other organisations. At the time, these children were taken from their families due to what the state determined to be neglect. More than 90,000 children were sent away to these places under the pretext of state care. What they experienced was anything but that. Instead, they were subjected to horrible abuse and neglect at the hands of these agencies, institutions and homes. No one story was the same. I recognise that categories are not overly helpful and words are not overly useful when talking about this. No one story was alike. There was physical abuse and emotional abuse. This ranged from physical abuse in the form of beatings to concerted efforts to humiliate children for natural behaviour. The Premier spoke of examples such as bedwetting, where the children were forced to wear their wet sheets as punishment, and instances of children being locked in closets and being starved or fed rotten food. It is gut-wrenching to hear testimonies, stories and other recounts of events from survivors, these cruel punishments that were inflicted on them.

These places where children were sent were entrusted by the state to care and look after children in need. The children were considered wards of the state, meaning that in many instances children were taken under the wing of the state and away from their parents. Behind these words was something more, something different, because the reality is that many of these Victorians were taken away from their families because they were struggling to put food on the table and struggling to make ends meet. Many of these children belonged to single-parent households, born to a single mother. Rather than help these struggling families, the state decided it knew better and determined that it was best to take the children away from them. The state then sent many of these children to institutions where they did not provide the love, care and parental guidance we expect out of our parents or guardians. They were instead met with neglect. Children were not treated with dignity and love. Many survivors bear scars from instances of abuse from their time in institutional care as children. It saddens me to know that many of them are no longer with us today and never received justice nor recognition in their lifetimes for what they endured. It is a shameful chapter in our state’s history.

The Premier noted that one of the most common phrases used by children in these stories of abuse was the word ‘shame’, and I echo the Premier in emphasising to the victims and survivors that the shame sits with us, not you. These Victorians have fought hard every day to deal with the enormous trauma that was inflicted upon them as children in their most vulnerable time. It was not something they could escape from. It was the mandate of the state that these children were their ward, and by law the same enforcement agencies were to uphold their placement and retention in these institutions with a blind eye to the abuse at hand and the horrid conditions. It is our great shame that for so long the state not only considered it reasonable but instituted measures to enforce and uphold these practices. It did not matter if the child wanted to go back to their parents, nor did it matter if the parents loved and cared for their child the best they could. The state had legislated their separation, and that was that. There was no remorse and no justice. When the time came to leave, these children were left alone – no support, nothing. Often, as the Premier mentioned as well, children who had up until then spent every waking moment of their lives scrutinised, controlled, policed and directed in totality were thrown back into the world with nothing more than the clothes on their back. They had endured hardship in these institutions under strict, brutal and humiliating control with no liberty or choice in matters, and then they were, once old enough, sent out into the world with no preparedness or effort to help them. They were then forced to make their own way without guidance and direction. Many of these survivors are still suffering from that abuse.

Last sitting week I attended the speech in the other place delivered by the Premier, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Greens, and it was a moment that I will never forget. Between 1928 and 1990 this happened. I was alive for almost half this period. This is not some distant memory; this is a living memory, and the people in the gallery, tears flowing, were a living reminder of that. Many watched at live sites in Geelong, Ballarat and Sale with hundreds more online – people like John and Maureen Ellis, who I read about in my research for this speech; Benita Kolovos in the Guardian wrote about their experiences. John, aged 84, was too unwell to travel to Parliament to hear the apology, but I know he was listening at home.

In my research I also learned about the forgotten Australians and former child migrants oral history project. For those who have not heard of it, I would encourage you to do so. It is a remarkable project. It acknowledges that we cannot possibly know every perspective, so, engaging a small sample size, it goes to great depths on their stories. It is a history project that has been used to create many more and to tell stories that have been left untold. These Victorians, as we know, were often kept in the dark about their family history. Survivors were forced on a journey to piece together their family history bit by bit, uncovering documents and records that were incomplete, poorly kept, censored or entirely hidden, all for the basic information of knowing what had happened to their families and why they had been sent there. It is projects like this oral history project that will help bridge these gaps.

The apology to these Victorians will not undo the trauma and the hurt inflicted on them, but I hope that they know we are now finally listening. Saying sorry is not just about acknowledging but about ensuring something like this does not happen again. We as a state must do better going forward. We cannot let this type of ignorance that directed such policy come to command our laws again. These laws which designated many of these children as wards of the state were made with language of misguided moralising. The words ‘care’ and ‘child protection’ painted these programs as compassionate efforts to help the neglected, yet they were very different from that. We must do differently.

I do want to take a moment to draw focus on the state’s redress program, particularly for the terminally or critically ill. Hardship payments are open for those survivors in extraordinary circumstances – for eligible care leavers in exceptional circumstances like those who are terminally or critically ill and who experienced physical, psychological and emotional abuse or neglect while placed in orphanages, children’s homes, missions or other out-of-home care. It is vital that as a state we work day in, day out to make sure that these Victorians are listened to and supported as we work towards not just apologising but standing with every victim and helping them along the way. These injustices were as recent as 1990. I cannot name all of the victims and all of their circumstances and all of the abuse that they would have endured.

I am glad to see colleagues of mine from all sides of the chamber coming together to apologise collectively for the harm and pain imposed by successive governments in the name of child protection. It is a legacy that we share collectively as representatives of the state, and we must apologise and act as a collective too. It is beyond politics.

To the survivors who may be listening, my thoughts are with you. You should never have gone through that appalling treatment, and the fact that it went on for so long by the state and at the hands of the agencies and institutions is not okay.

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (16:34): It is always an honour to speak in this chamber but particularly in moments like this when we have the opportunity to say just a few words – and my contribution today will be brief – about the remarkable apology that the Parliament gave in the last sitting week to those Victorians who experienced historical abuse and neglect as children in institutional care. Obviously there have been many moving words said today on the subject, but I think in particular of the contribution that the Premier made on the floor of the joint sitting last sitting week. I did not maintain a dry eye through her contribution, and I am sure many others did not either. And also obviously I acknowledge the contributions that the Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Greens similarly made on that day. I think it is important when we look at the apology to reflect on and remember the role that many who have advocated for the acknowledgement of those children who were abused in institutional care have made over decades. Their advocacy on behalf of the fellow children that they grew up with in institutions has been relentless – and I do not mean that in a negative sense; they have been persistent and dogged in their advocacy.

It is important I think to acknowledge the seminal role that a couple of parliamentary committees played in the course of the last 20 years in giving acknowledgement to that voice and amplifying their experiences to the state and to the nation. I think that perhaps in those instances we see the most noble expression of our role both as parliamentarians but as those who participate in parliamentary committee work, where we can give voice to the voiceless and we can lay bare for everyone to see, under the protections of the privileges of this institution with its storied history, and uncover the terrible history that has existed in places and parts of our state that have been free of scrutiny and oversight and care and love for so long. And that is what, as Ms Crozier mentioned in her contribution, particularly the Betrayal of Trust report initiated in 2011, tabled in 2013 – what that committee process demonstrated and uncovered. But also stretching back now 20 years to 2004 we had what was arguably the seminal parliamentary committee report of the Senate community affairs committee inquiry into children in institutional care, which was tabled in 2004. That really for the first time told the story of what happened to children in Australia who were placed in institutional care and those child migrants who were forced to come to these shores.

Those documents, that process, set us on the path that led us to the apology that was so graciously received by so many who listened to it either in the galleries or at home in the last sitting week – the extent to which their capacity for humanity shone through in how they responded to the graciousness that was expressed to them by the leaders in the debate, the absolute graciousness with which that was received by them. I think, to echo those words that the Premier spoke, that the shame of this episode is not with them but with us. Too many Australians, too many Victorians, suffered abuse when they were placed in institutional care during the last century, and the extent of that psychological, physical, emotional and sexual abuse is devastating. Too many children suffered. Many of these children grew up not knowing their family. The grief and trauma that they experienced continues through to this day, and the knock-on consequences of how they were mistreated have followed them into adulthood, whether that manifests with higher incidences of poverty or homelessness or substance abuse – some have suffered in those ways – because everyone in those circumstances suffered from the institutions that they were placed in the care of.

Part of the healing is the acknowledgement, and that is why these motions of apology are so important. They acknowledge and they allow the healing to take place at an individual level. They must also allow for the resolve of current legislators and policymakers to ensure that when the state does need to take necessary action to step in and do what is required to keep children safe today – and we still, regrettably, do need to take such action – we do so with models of care that are informed by the best interests of those children about their recovery and restoration and not with the kinds of attitudes that scarred the murky past. We have got to learn from what happened. We have got to resolve to not let it happen again.

As we are doing, we have got to show both contrition and that there is redress available, because that is an important part of the healing journey. It is the acknowledgement that comes with an apology but also the action that comes with things like redress schemes, which the government has initiated, and with the programs that go into supporting both the children who are currently in out-of-home care and those who as adults are still suffering from this trauma. We are committed, the government is wholeheartedly committed, to acknowledging the historical abuse and neglect that too many Victorian children suffered – the apology does that for us – and to recommitting ourselves collectively to ensuring that the children who exist in our care now are looked after in the best way they possibly can be, because we must always commit ourselves to doing more and to doing better to protect Victoria’s children, whether they be past, present or future.

Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (16:42): I stand here really in deep reflection on the apology made in that joint sitting by the Premier in our last sitting week. To the survivors who still grieve and to the families who were never reunited, the families who were lost to one another forever, I too say sorry. I reflect also on the burden that is still carried by your own children, your grandchildren, your partners and your friends, as well as the love and the depth of commitment that have helped carry you all towards this moment. I am also sorry to those who might have taken comfort from what we are saying on this important day but did not live to see it. I say sorry knowing that sorry requires action and it requires commitment to doing more and doing better to protect Victoria’s children. We can do better, and we will, by listening to Victorians, create trauma-informed and survivor-led processes that sincerely seek to redress the injustices of the past and keep faith with all those harmed by the acts of the past.

I just want to take a moment to acknowledge Simon Pryor, an active and passionate community leader in the Northern Metro Region. He has many stories to tell about Victorians who survived institutional care. Some stories are his own; however, most are of those people he advocates on behalf of despite his own pain. I acknowledge Simon and all the survivors for their resilience and for their advocacy. Simon was present in this place when Premier Allan delivered her formal apology in that last sitting week. Simon and I had the chance to speak afterwards. He expressed that though there was so much work to do, he was grateful for this public acknowledgement of the harms caused and for the steps being taken to address those harms. He told me that he has hope that the future for survivors could be better as a result of the commitments that we made in this place.

You see, every day my mob walk around bearing the scars of intergenerational trauma as a result of forced removal practices. We know only too well that the path to healing and reconciliation is long, often heartbreaking, and sometimes you do not get to where you want to be. I know only too well the pain and the sorrow and the hurt of removal, of stories not told, of connections not made and of families never quite connected. I have spoken in this place about the power of the national apology to the stolen generations. I have spoken about the transformation it had in my life and in my commitment to my community. I also did not get to speak, and I have not yet spoken, about the people that I met that day in Canberra in 2008 – what is so many years ago now, it seems. But for those of us that share that story of being there at the apology, it is one that seems like just yesterday. For me and for those of us that connect, it reminds us that through struggle and hardship there is strength. There is strength in our resistance, there is strength in our story and there is strength in each other, and that is what we do as a community. I know that the survivors that came together on that day – some Aboriginal, many that were not – have found strength with each other. I found it, as I looked out upon them in the observers’ gallery, so warming and so comforting – and I say to you that I kind of in a way wish that I was sitting with you, remembering the stories of my family and those that are no longer with us.

I hope that this apology means that as many Victorians as possible who have undergone this trauma can get closer to where they need to be. Really, that will be so different for every person, for every family and for their children in the years to come. The experiences of removal especially resonate with me and other First Nations people. You see, to right the injustices of the past and create a stronger, kinder future takes immense courage and resilience, and survivors have shown their resilience again and again in the face of immense odds. Can I just say it takes a lot to move past the enormous trauma of your own story and your own experience and then step up for those people that you do not know and that you may never meet and be an advocate on behalf of an entire community, especially when you are someone with lived experience. So to those survivors that are advocates, I hold the deepest and most profound respect for you. As we begin the consultation and co-design process which will inform the establishment of the redress scheme, please be assured and reassured of my commitment to walk with you. Thank you to this chamber for providing me the opportunity to pay my respects and once again solemnly remember all the Victorian children taken from their families.

Motion agreed to.