Mandatory Reports for Priests

By Farrah Tomazin
The Age
November 25, 2012

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/mandatory-reports-for-priests-20121124-2a0ho.html

PRIESTS who suspect a child is being sexually abused will have to report their concerns to police under a planned crackdown by the state government. In an interview with Fairfax Media to mark two years in office, Premier Ted Baillieu foreshadowed changing the Crimes Act to compel priests and other religious workers to report suspicions of abuse within their organisations.

This would represent a shift in Victoria's mandatory reporting regime, which currently exempts religious officials, and could involve clerics being prosecuted for failing to report. But Mr Baillieu says he is yet to be convinced about the need for priests to disclose what is said in the confessional - an issue that is being considered by a parliamentary committee investigating sex abuse within the church and other institutions.

''We support mandatory reporting, and I wouldn't have a problem with an advance on that. But I think when it comes to the confessional, there are some other issues around that,'' he said. ''I'd rather leave that to the inquiry to make recommendations on it.''

The government is unlikely to change the law until it receives formal recommendations from the committee, because Mr Baillieu is keen to see the inquiry run its course.

But the push towards mandatory reporting comes as the federal government prepares to embark on a royal commission into child sex abuse, following allegations of assaults and cover-ups going back decades.

It is also consistent with the recommendations of Justice Philip Cummins' sweeping review of the child protection system, which the government has been considering since February.

The review urged the government to change the Crimes Act 1958 ''to create a separate reporting duty where there is a reasonable suspicion a child or young person who is under 18 is being, or has been, physically or sexually abused by an individual within a religious or spiritual organisation.''

This duty, the Cummins report said, should extend to a minister of religion, and any volunteer, worker, or official within religious organisations with regular contact with children and young people.

The review also suggested a maximum of 12 months' jail, or a suitable fine, for those who failed to report, but provided an exemption for information received during confession.

In a broad-ranging interview on the anniversary of his 2010 election victory, Mr Baillieu also:

■Insisted he had ''no plans'' to reshuffle his cabinet, despite concerns some ministers are not doing enough to help the government sell itself publicly.

■Said the government was on track to meet its target of 4200 public sector job cuts but did not rule out using forced redundancies if not enough people took up voluntary departure packages.

■Said he would be prepared to sell off public assets to fund future infrastructure projects, but added he had no plans to sell the Port of Melbourne or any of the state's water authorities, contrary to previous speculation.

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Labor supported mandatory reporting of sexual abuse within religious organisations.

But asked more generally about the government's first two years in office, Mr Andrews was scathing, accusing Mr Baillieu of having ''no plan or vision'' to advance the state.

''You've got to play the full four quarters - you can't just wake up at the halfway mark,'' he said.

 

Contact: ftomazin@theage.com.au