Abuse Inquiry Effectiveness Queried

By Jane Lee
The Age
November 06, 2012

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/abuse-inquiry-effectiveness-queried-20121105-28u6u.html

MOST of the evidence given to a state inquiry into child abuse has not been published more than a month after the deadline for submissions closed.

The committee of family and community development released 47 submissions on its website on October 10, ahead of its first hearing. They included statements from the Catholic Church and other religious groups, and a withering attack by Victoria Police on the church's hindrance of its sexual abuse investigations since the 1950s.

But no further submissions have been published since, adding to scepticism over the inquiry's effectiveness. Many critics are calling its six-member committee - which is due to report to Parliament in April - under-resourced and over-worked.

The committee has received hundreds of additional submissions since the inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and non-government organisations was called in April. That followed years of campaigning by victims, advocates and media.

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The list of witnesses appearing at the inquiry's upcoming hearing on Friday, has also not been published.

The committee's spokeswoman, Amanda Kennedy, said some people had requested that their evidence be published partially or anonymously, while others had requested complete confidentiality. She said some submissions were more than 300 pages in length.

''All submissions will be formally accepted by the committee. But then each submission needs to be carefully worked through to analyse the content and appropriately deal with the information it provides to the inquiry,'' she said.

''If submissions contain specific allegations or information relating to a current or potential future investigation, then it will take longer for those issues to be worked through … We need to have a thorough process of analysis from an investigatory, policing and legal perspective. We want to ensure we give each submission the appropriate consideration it deserves.''

It is believed the committee is still accepting evidence as the inquiry continues. Ms Kennedy said it had the power to accept late submissions on a ''case by case basis''.

''We are focused on conducting a thorough inquiry, not a hasty one,'' she said.

Lawyer and Monash University PhD student Judy Courtin's submission, which outlines some of her preliminary research findings, is one of those yet to be published. It showed that most victims, lawyers and legal advocates she had interviewed had found the Catholic Church's internal complaints process - Towards Healing, and the Melbourne Response - abusive, with many victims emerging with post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts.

Ms Courtin, who helped more than 30 Ballarat victims write their joint submission, said many were unsure when or if they would be called to testify to the inquiry.

''It's not the committee's fault, it's the fault of the whole process and it's under-resourced,'' she said. ''It's also [that] it's an added form of stress, particularly for victims and their families who have put in submissions to have all that hanging in the air. It's the unknown that makes it stressful and traumatic.''