Variety of Experts Sought for Child Abuse Commission

Canberra Times
November 27, 2012

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/variety-of-experts-sought-for-child-abuse-commission-20121126-2a3z2.html

The overwhelming response to the royal commission on child sex abuse has highlighted the need for multiple commissioners, some with expertise in child protection, the Attorney-General Nicola Roxon says.

After submissions closed on Monday, the federal government has less than four weeks to set the terms of reference for the royal commission on how child sex abuse allegations have been handled by religious, community and state institutions.

The tight deadline reflects Prime Minister Julia Gillard's wish for the inquiry, which is likely to take years and involve thousands of individuals, to be established by the end of this year so it can begin work in early 2013.

Ms Roxon told Parliament on Monday the ''overwhelming'' response had ''enthusiastically come from all corners of the country''.

''I wanted to report to the House that as well as a number of meetings the government's been conducting with stakeholders, we've received more than 270 emails and 33 submissions,'' she said.

''These are detailed comments that have been provided, as well as over 1000 hits to the website.'' Public submissions were sought on the scope of the terms of reference, the form of the commission, the number of commissioners and reporting arrangements.

Ms Roxon said the submissions highlighted the importance of designing a hearing process so victims would feel supported as they prepare and give evidence.

The need to appoint multiple commissioners with broad expertise, legal expertise and expertise in child protection was also frequently mentioned.

Submissions have not been published by the federal government but some groups have made their wishes public.

The spokesman for the Broken Rites victim support group, Wayne Chamley, said in a statement on Sunday that one commissioner must have long-standing judicial experience and experience in the criminal law.

Another commissioner should perform the role of a ''truth commissioner'' and travel widely to listen to the truth of victims' experiences, Dr Chamley said.

The Catholic Church lodged its submission on Friday, offering 14 suggestions including that the royal commission must examine a national framework for a law on the mandatory reporting of child abuse.

The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, said in the submission letter that the commission should carefully assess all of the issues preventing abuse from being effectively dealt with, including failures of ''non-reporting and non-response''.

Ms Roxon said the 300-odd emails and submissions from stakeholders sent a strong message.

''It's very clear that the community wants the commission and all governments across Australia to do everything we can to make sure that what has happened in the past is never allowed to happen again,'' she told Parliament.