With the ACT Party’s Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill having its first reading in parliament last week, the debate and protests have been – understandably – focused on the local historical and political landscape.

Today marks a long-awaited milestone for survivors of the state care system, with the formal apology by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon acknowledging the catastrophic abuse endured by at least 250,000 people at the hands of state and faith-based institutions between 1950 and 1999.