Some 200,000 vulnerable New Zealanders were abused in state care in the seven decades since the 1950s, according to a six-year public inquiry that described its findings as an “unthinkable national catastrophe”. Youngsters were sexually abused by church carers, mothers were forced to give up children for adoption, and troublesome patients were strapped to beds for seizure-inducing electroconvulsive therapy.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday apologised on behalf of successive governments that turned a blind eye to such harrowing reports. “I am sorry you were not believed when you came forward to report your abuse,” he said in an address delivered to parliament.

Survivor Tu Chapman told reporters the government had to answer for “decades of abuse, neglect, and torture by those running state, church and faith-based institutions”.

Many victims reported lingering trauma that has fuelled addiction and other problems. The report found that some of the abuse was “overlaid with racism” targeting Indigenous Maori.