An Invercargill man abused in state care 50 years ago has shown Prime Minister Christopher Luxon a photo of his late mother.
“I said, ‘Prime Minister, when you apologise to the mothers forced to give their babies up, here’s my mum, here’s the reality’,” Toni Jarvis said.
The exchange took place at Parliament, when the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into abuse in care was tabled.
Dozens of survivors of abuse in care, including Jarvis, gathered to see their experiences recorded and noted at Parliament.
Jarvis said he met Luxon, who intended to formally apologise to the abused survivors in November.
His mother’s name was Margaret Jarvis.
“I often wondered what my life would have been like if they hadn’t taken me from her,” he said.
“She would have loved me, I know she would have, like she loved her [other] kids.”
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“I said, ‘Prime Minister, when you apologise to the mothers forced to give their babies up, here’s my mum, here’s the reality’,” Toni Jarvis said.
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