E ngā purapura ora, e ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā hau e whā, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Ki Ngā Wairiki me Ngāti Apa, tēnā kōrua – ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou.

All survivors, all authorities, all voices, to all from the four winds, we acknowledge you. Greetings to one and all. To Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa – greetings to you both. Warm regards to everyone.

The title of this report into the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit is, Beautiful Children. These words are lyrics from the song “Sensitive to a Smile”, performed by Aotearoa New Zealand band Herbs. A former member of Herbs, Carl Perkins, was placed in Lake Alice as a child. Carl credits music for saving his life when he was young. Carl passed away in 2018 aged 59. We use the lyrics from “Sensitive to a Smile” in the pages of this report to honour Carl and all tamariki and rangatahi placed at Lake Alice. We thank Herbs for allowing us to use the lyrics in this report.

We acknowledge Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa, mana whenua of the rohe around Lake Alice. No one has sought their views and insights before. We are honoured to weave these throughout the report. We thank Ngā Wairiki and Ngāti Apa for gifting the karakia that frame this report. The karakia hold the kaupapa of the report safely.

We are grateful to the many survivors, supported by whanau and support networks, who spoke to us about their experiences of the tūkino, the abuse, harm and trauma suffered at Lake Alice, and the enduring impacts of those. We acknowledge that reliving your experiences took a significant toll on your personal wellbeing, and that you did this to make a difference. Your experiences, whakaaro and insights underpin this report. Without your courage and determination, we could not have written this report. To those survivors who have not been able to come forward – we acknowledge you and your whānau and your survivor journey.

Many who suffered at Lake Alice died too young. Although they are no longer able to share their kōrero, we acknowledge them and their whānau. Moe mai rā ki a koutou.

This investigation and report would not have been possible without the persistence of the advocates and investigators who worked tirelessly over decades to seek justice for survivors. They made sure that the horrors of the Lake Alice Child and Adolescent Unit were not forgotten. In particular, we acknowledge members of the Auckland Committee on Racism and Discrimination and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights

We acknowledge the mahi, or work, of the members of the Survivor advisory group of experts, Te Taumata, Pou Tikanga, and Te Ara Takatū for their contributions to this report.

We particularly thank the Lake Alice report reference group, Frank Bristol, Dr. Brigit Mirfin-Veitch and Dr. Lynne Russell, whose lived experience and subject matter expertise enriched our understanding.

We express our thanks to former Commissioner Julia Steenson for her contributions to this report.

Finally we acknowledge and thank all of those in the Secretariat, Counsel Assisting and Counsel who acted for survivors. They all worked hard and long to support survivors, to undertake the investigation and to prepare and deliver this report.

Next page-->