Australia's PM Kevin Rudd has apologised to the hundreds of thousands of children who were abused or neglected in state care as children.

澳大利亚总理陆克文向数十万曾经在孤儿院中被虐待或者忽视的儿童道歉。

Many of the children were lied to about their parents being dead

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 orphanages¹（孤儿院） and children's homes from 1930 to 1970.

The Canberra ceremony is being attended by hundreds of people forced to migrate when young.

Kevin Rudd is also offering an apology to child migrants taken from the UK to Australia after the war, often without their parents' consent（同意，许可）.

On Sunday, the UK government said the British prime minister would apologise for the forced migration² policy next year.

Mr Rudd recognised the mistreatment and ongoing³（前进的，进行的） suffering of some 500,000 people held in orphanages or children's homes between 1930 and 1970.

'Significant moment'

Under the Child Migrants Programme - which ended just 40 years ago - the UK sent poor children to a "better life" in Australia, Canada and elsewhere.

As they were compulsorily⁴（强迫地，强制地） shipped out of Britain, many of the children were told - wrongly - their parents were dead.

Many parents did not know their children, aged⁵ as young as three, had been sent to Australia.

Care agencies worked with the government to send disadvantaged children to a rosy⁶ future（锦绣前程） and supply what was deemed "good white stock（清汤）" to a former colony.

In many cases they were educated only for farm work, and suffered cruelty and hardship including physical, psychological and sexual abuse.

The founder⁷ of the Child Migrants Trust, Margaret Humphreys, has travelled from the UK to Canberra for Mr Rudd's apology.

She said: "The trust has campaigned for over 20 years for this kind and degree of recognition. For child migrants, of course, it has been all their lives and for their families.

"This is a moment - a significant moment - in the history of child migration. The recognition is vital if people are to recover."