<p>The New Zealand government announced a Royal Commission of Inquiry would be launched investigating historic abuse in state care, in a press conference headed by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday, February 1.</p><p>Minister for Children Tracey Martin said the time period covered would likely be from the 1950s through to the 1990s, “the logic of that being that in the 1950s, a number of children’s homes were opened in New Zealand, and that is when the bulk of children were taken into care.”</p><p>It is alleged as many as 100,000 children – mostly Maori – were abused between the 1950s and 1990s, TVNZ</a> reported, citing the UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.</p><p>On Thursday, Ardern said the inquiry could take three years or longer, and would be headed by former Governor-General Sir Anand Satyanand. Credit: New Zealand Labour Party via Storyful</p><br />
