Barnett Voices Concerns about Sex Abuse Inquiry
ABC News
The Premier Colin Barnett has urged the Federal Government to impose a time limit on its royal commission into institutional child sex abuse. He says while the State Government will co-operate with the inquiry, it will not be jointly running the investigation. The commission was ordered by the Prime Minister following fresh allegations of cover-ups by the Catholic Church and police. The Federal Government is yet to announce the terms of reference for its inquiry, announced last week. Mr Barnett has voiced concerns about a number of issues. "My concern is that this seems to be a very wide brief, not restricted in any sense in time," he said. "It will cause a lot of hardship. "It will cause perhaps a lot of destructive forces on many of the institutions within this country and I would just urge the Federal Government to think very carefully about the terms of reference." Mr Barnett says the inquiry needs to be contained for the sake of abuse victims. "I think you will see many people's lives destroyed," he said. "I think you will see many of Australia's institutions which may have been at fault also destroyed and perhaps great divisions within our community. "I would urge careful thought about the terms of reference and a restriction on the time for this royal commission." Senior Labor MP Sue Ellery has called on Mr Barnett to apologise for his remarks, saying survivors of abuse will be offended. "Premier Barnett's comments suggest he's more worried about protecting the perpetrators than ensuring a platform for those people who haven't been able to tell their story," she said. The Premier says Ms Ellery's comments are wrong and inappropriate. Mr Barnett says the Government's concern for child sex abuse victims is illustrated by how quickly it moved to establish the St Andrew's Hostel special inquiry.
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