A former foster child says having a cutoff date on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care is a big mistake.
The inquiry will look into instances of abuse between 1950 to the end of 1999.
Inquiry head Sir Anand Satyanand wants victims to feel comfortable coming forward, as more details around the process come to light.
Daryl Broughan says it's almost too painful to look at the past, and he knows he's not alone in thinking that.
"How many of us want to retell that story now because they decide to put a royal commission on place? Does that give a big tick for everyone to feel comfortable to go now tell their story?"
- Four former wards of the state share their horrific stories
- Churches could launch own investigation into historical abuse
He says the inquiry needs a wider scope, and there are too many children in the hands of the state now to leave them out.
"I would like to see the royal commission set up to come forward from any present day, and for us to identify patterns of practise that need to be changed now - yet we're only doing a royal commission up to 1990."
Mr Broughan also wants the inquiry to include children kept in the care of churches. Including churches has been ruled out as a logistical nightmare, Sir Anand telling Newshub Nation they're free to do their own internal investigation.
"I raised with them the prospect that the churches could use their combined resources to mount a commission of their own, so they could deal with issues in a tailor-made fashion."
Mr Broughan says there's too many unanswered questions in how the inquiry will work.
"What's the terms of reference around what we're saying? How is that going to be measured? If I'm going to talk about my experience in care, how's that going to be measured?"
Newshub.
