Praise and warnings for inquiry
THE announcement of a commission of inquiry into child sexual abuse in government agencies has been welcomed — with warnings it needs to be well resourced and have broad terms of reference, and its recommendations must be heeded.
Premier Peter Gutwein announced the commission of inquiry on Monday morning. It will start in the new year and sit for 12 months.
Labor leader Rebecca White said she was glad the Premier had had a change of heart.
“There’s no doubt that because of the publicity and the bravery of people who’ve spoken out, the Premier has felt there’s no other option but to launch a commission of inquiry, which we certainly welcome,” she said.
“We’re encouraging the government to work with all parties across the parliament to make sure that when those recommendations are provided to government, they can be swiftly adopted and implemented.”
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the commission needed to be well resourced and have a broad remit
“We need a change, so that we’re encouraging truth- tellers, whistleblowers to come forward, where they see abuse or a systemic failure,” she said.
“Everything needs to change. We can’t be perpetually in this situation, where we’re hearing stories of the most horrific abuse of children and young people, and there’s that grinding feeling that it’s all being swept under the carpet.
“Those days have to end.”
Commissioner for Children and Young People Leanne McLean welcomed the Premier’s announcement.
“A commission of inquiry is, in my view, the most transparent and appropriately robust way to investigate the systems and practices within our government departments that may have contributed to harm being done to children,” Ms McLean said.
“A commission of inquiry will be able to lift the lid on these matters, afford a voice to survivors and ensure we do better in future – acknowledging that nothing will erase the wrongs of the past for survivors of abuse.
“We want to find out what went wrong so we can do better. This is a very important message for our children and young people to hear – that we want to keep them safer.”
Australian Lawyers Alliance state president Sebastian Buscemi welcomed the inquiry and said the terms of reference must not be too restrictive.
“We welcome the Premier’s announcement but we want to stress the importance of ensuring the scope of the inquiry is broad enough to allow the real issues to come to light,” he said
“Recent inquiries in Tasmania have had restrictive terms of reference that seemed to avoid key problems at the heart of the issue.
“We cannot learn from the mistakes of the past without knowing what those mistakes were so it is very important the terms of reference for this inquiry do not limit its ability to uncover the truth and determine why this shocking abuse has occurred in so many government institutions.”
And lawyer Angela Sdrinis, a specialist in cases involving sexual and institutional abuse, said it was critical no institutions were left out.