Australia 'sorry' for child abuse

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Australian PM Kevin Rudd has apologised to the hundreds of thousands of people, some British migrants, who were abused or neglected in state care as children.

Mr Rudd said he was "deeply sorry" for the pain caused to the children and their extended families.

He said he hoped the national apology would help to "heal the pain" and be a turning point in Australian history.

Some 500,000 "forgotten Australians" were abused or neglected in orphanages and children's homes from 1930 to 1970.

Mr Rudd's speech comes after his formal apology last year to Australia's Aboriginal community, especially the Stolen Generation.

These were Aborigines who were taken from their parents and sent to state institutions and white families to be brought up under a policy which ended in the 1960s.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8361389.stm