Church Inquiry "Not Enough"

By Josh Gordon and Barney Zwartz
The Age
April 18, 2012

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/church-inquiry-not-enough-20120417-1x5p7.html

[with video]

THE historic decision by the Baillieu government to launch an inquiry into the handling by churches of clergy sex abuse allegations was undermined last night when a key member of the committee appointed to run the inquiry said it was the wrong body for the task.

Labor MP Frank McGuire, deputy chairman of State Parliament's family and community development committee, said the obvious choice would have been former Supreme Court judge Philip Cummins, who headed the government's recent inquiry into child welfare.

The committee is inexperienced, with four of its six members having been in Parliament less than 18 months.


The committee is already handling two other inquiries, and has been given only a year to investigate how churches and non-government organisations handled scores of sexual abuse allegations dating back decades.

Committee members were told only yesterday morning of their new assignment.

Mr McGuire said Justice Cummins had already done a considerable amount of work on clergy abuse as part of the child welfare inquiry. He said if not Justice Cummins, another retired judge or eminent Queen's counsel should run the inquiry and ''separate it out of the parliamentary process''.


Announcing the inquiry, Premier Ted Baillieu said it would have sufficient powers and resources, including power to compel witnesses and evidence. But some victims were disappointed a royal commission was not appointed.

''We regard child abuse as abhorrent and we will endeavour to do whatever we can to prevent it from happening and indeed bring those who are perpetrators of child abuse to justice,'' Mr Baillieu said.

State Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said he did not think MPs had the expertise to conduct the inquiry free from political interference. ''The further away from the Victorian political process this matter is the better the outcomes will be for victims,'' he said.

''I just don't think that six politicians have got the background skills, and their involvement in the Victorian political process means this was not the best way the government could have gone.''

Greens MP Colleen Hartland said the inquiry was a half-measure. She said both the Cummins report and a police report on suicides of clergy abuse victims - revealed in The Age last Friday - recommended independent inquiries.

She said the parliamentary inquiry ''may be bipartisan, but it is not independent''. The committee system was also under-resourced.

Attorney-General Robert Clark told The Age a parliamentary inquiry was more appropriate than a royal commission because it would be less confronting, adversarial, legalistic and intimidating for victims.

While the Bushfires Royal Commission had to provide a forensic examination of failings, in this case individual crimes would be a matter for police and the courts, he said. ''This committee needs to concentrate on the broader and system implications and come up with policy recommendations.''

Asked whether the committee was capable of such an inquiry, he said it could seek help, including a legal adviser and support staff. ''The members are a bipartisan cross-section of the Parliament and we have every confidence in them.''

Survivors and churches welcomed the inquiry, even acknowledging its lack of independence, saying it would expose the horrors of abuse.

Nicky Davis, president of Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests, congratulated the government for being the first in Australia ''to take the plight of victims of Catholic Church-enabled child rape seriously … This is a huge step forward in stopping the reign of terror of sexual predators enjoying the prestige and protection of this powerful institution.''

Helen Last, whose Melbourne Victims Collective represents 40 survivors, said: ''This will take a lot of tension from the survivors, who have been pushing for this, and now they can look to getting the materials ready for inquiry.''

Leonie Sheedy, chief executive of Care Leavers of Australia Network, which represents wards of state, said she was ecstatic. ''I don't think people understand what it means to us. At last these elderly care leavers can get their story out and die with dignity, and our children will understand us better.''

Former Jewish leader Manny Waks, himself a victim, said there had been widespread sexual abuse of children within Victoria's ultra-orthodox Jewish community, and he was convinced the inquiry would uncover more.

''The mishandling of these cases of abuse by the ultra-orthodox institutions has been negligent if not criminal. From my personal experience I hold the Yeshivah Centre [in St Kilda East] directly responsible for the widespread sexual abuse that has gone on there over many years. They knew about it yet failed to act,'' Mr Waks said.

Lawyer Vivian Waller, who is representing 45 victims, said a royal commission or judicial inquiry would have been better, but this was a ''a step in the right direction towards truth and accountability''.

Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Denis Hart promised full co-operation, saying he was convinced it would ''clear the air around the painful and distressing issue. We have nothing to hide from such an independent inquiry.''

He said his clear preference was for allegations of criminal conduct to be dealt with by police and the courts. ''The state, and not the church, is best-placed to deal with these matters.''

Melbourne Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier said the inquiry would reassure the community that churches and religious organisations handled abuse allegations with the utmost seriousness and concern, and with the best possible response and care.

He said Anglican clergy and church workers were obliged to report crimes and abuse, and its professional standards office co-operated fully with police.

Uniting Church moderator Isabel Thomas Dobson promised to work fully with the inquiry and subject the church to scrutiny.