Retired Judge Appointed to Abuse Inquiry Team

By Alison Savage
ABC News
August 13, 2012

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-13/retired-judge-appointed-to-abuse-inquiry-team/4195222?section=sa

The inquiry will examine how religious groups and churches handle sexual abuse complaints.

Retired Supreme Court judge Frank Vincent will head the legal team conducting a parliamentary inquiry into child sex abuse by religious groups in Victoria.

The inquiry, being conducted by the Victorian Parliament's Family and Community Development Committee, will examine the ways religious groups and churches handle complaints about sexual abuse.

Frank Vincent, QC, has been appointed senior legal adviser to the inquiry and will be assisted by an experienced lawyer seconded from the Public Prosecutions Service.

A government spokesman says Mr Vincent has "bipartisan respect and will bring extensive expertise to this task."

The former South Australian police chief, Mal Hyde, will be the inquiry's senior adviser on policing matters.

The Government still has a number of other positions to fill and says the resources are being funded separately from the committee's existing budget.

The resourcing of the inquiry has been a contentious issue, with some victims' groups saying the matter is too complex for a parliamentary inquiry and should have instead been the subject of a royal commission.