Our children owed better

AS Nelson Mandela once said: “History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children.” These immortal words are particularly poignant on a day like today – a day when the safety of our young is so clearly eroded.

In Brisbane, we have the utterly heartbreaking news that three children – all under the age of 10 – died in a fire in their family car.

Their father also died after allegedly injuring himself with a knife and their mother is now in hospital with severe burns. It is reported the children’s parents were in the midst of a custody dispute.

In Victoria we have heard some disturbing accusations. St Kevin’s College headmaster Stephen Russell resigned yesterday after it was reported he wrote a character reference for a now-convicted sex offender and former school running coach. Peter Kehoe was convicted of grooming a boy he coached at the elite school.

Numerous current and former staff, students and parents from St Kevin’s College have complained to media that the school had a history of failing to adequately deal with complaints of inappropriate behaviour.

In a society where massive amounts of energy are dedicated to making our lives more convenient, easier and more amenable, one can’t help but feel these stories stand as a chilling reminder of how often we

TO SEE THAT INNOCENCE SNATCHED AWAY IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE LEAVES US ALL TO QUESTION WHAT MORE CAN WE DO TO PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.

are still getting our priorities wrong and just how horrifying the consequences can be.

The victim in the St Kevin’s College incident states he was suicidally depressed in the wake of the events that tore his life apart.

It is a massive credit to the character of the young man that he pulled through – clearly and obviously he is the person whose character the headmaster should have been commending.

There are harrowing eyewitness accounts of the fire in which the three Brisbane children lost their lives yesterday. To see that innocence snatched away in the blink of an eye leaves us all to question what more can we do to protect our children.

Should the cause prove to be domestic violence, those innocents represent a mere fraction of the death toll for young people lost in crimes of that nature.

There are some days and weeks where you’d prefer just to not read the news. Because sometimes the dark is just too hard to comprehend.

When Nelson Mandela uttered the words that opened this editorial he was speaking about child poverty and disease in nations where children no doubt face a far worse start in life than in Australia.

However, it is tragic, heartbreaking and disturbing that the same quote could and should be applied to the standard of care Australia presently appears to be affording its young people.

As a nation we would all agree that the death of even one child is far too many.

As a nation we cannot accept educators standing by convicted child sex offenders in favour of those they are duty bound to protect.

We must demand better.

We must, at all costs, protect our children.

Responsibility for all editorial comment is taken by the Editor, Jenna Cairney, Level 1, 2 Salamanca Square, Hobart, TAS, 7000