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	Levy to Hurt Parishes Adelaide Now [Australia] October 28, 2006 http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,20664215-5006301,00.html Adelaide's Anglican Archbishop says a levy to cover $5 million in sex-abuse claims will hurt small parishes. The church will hit its parishes with a 1 per cent levy each year for 10 years to meet claims against priests, church officials and church workers. In a majority vote at its annual conference yesterday, the church's synod endorsed the levy as part of a 10-year strategy to rebuild its finances. Archbishop Jeffrey Driver said there had been almost unanimous support for the levy, even from those parishes struggling to survive. "It was a strong indication of the synod's strong goodwill towards its responsibilities to survivors (of sexual abuse)," he said. "I had a parish priest from one of our smaller, struggling parishes saying how much pain it (the levy) will mean because it is a parish on the edge, but they said they support it because it is the right thing. "This was a country parish affected by the drought; they said it would be a heavy toll but they wanted to do something. "The diocese, I believe, has gone as far as it can at this stage in trying to respond to the situation before it. "It's a time of healing, hopefully for the survivors and hopefully for the diocese." The levy is expected to raise $5.5 million and will be imposed on the assessable income in each parish. The church has already spent $4.5 million of a $7.5 million loan to settle claims. Under its 10-year strategy, the church will sell the tennis court at the Archbishop's residence at Bishops Court, North Adelaide, and a campsite in the Barossa Valley to fund additional settlements expected before the end of 2007. It will begin a direct appeal to parishes and individuals to raise $1.5 million by the end of next year. But Archbishop Driver said the measures would "not break" the diocese. Coromandel Valley parish priest Stephen Clark said the levy would have an impact on the small parishes who are "really strapped". "But there is a strong commitment to do what we can and I don't think anyone can doubt that," he said. Archbishop Driver said the church was rolling out a range of measures, including screening of all staff and clergy, to prevent the recurrence of sexual abuse. But the synod adjourned debate on a code of conduct which would force priests to report any information about child abuse to a professional standards committee. The issue will be back on the agenda today along with a four-year restructure of the diocese's internal governance.
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