Money Squirrelled Away at "Poor" Diocese

By Annette Blackwell
West Australian
November 22, 2013

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/national/19969255/church-faced-potential-financial-crisis/

The former registrar of the Anglican diocese at the centre of a child abuse inquiry has admitted lying about church finances to Richard "Tommy" Campion, who had started a group claim against the church.

Pat Comben, a former Queensland education and environment minister, said when he became registrar at Grafton in 2004, he didn't find the financial position as bad as he'd been led to believe.

During his time as registrar former residents of the North Coast Children's Home in Lismore began to come forward with horrific tales of abuse at the hands of clergy and workers at the orphanage.

Mr Comben, a former clergyman, on Friday told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse he found money "squirrelled away" at the diocese - $50,000 here, $100,000 there in different accounts.

About $2 million was available at the beginning of 2006, he said.

He did not become aware of the likely $12 million loss over church trustees' investment in a private school in Clarence Valley until late in 2006.

Then he realised "there was a big problem that was hidden".

He said he was aware of the school debt - an unsecured loan from the Grafton Diocese Investment Fund - but was assured the school would pay its way.

"I walked past that school for a year and a half as a former minister for education, saying 'There is no way that place is viable'," he said.

Commission chair Justice Peter McClellan asked Mr Comben about a letter he wrote to Mr Campion in April 2006 stating the diocese had no capital account or discretionary reserves and, consequently, even the small funds "we are discussing are found with difficulty".

The small fund was $500 for travel expenses to Mr Campion.

"There were no discretionary reserves," Mr Comben said.

He added, "I will say no, it was not an honest thing to say to Mr Campion."

He did it, he said, because he would not have been a good employee if he went around telling people the diocese had $2 million.

Mr Comben was questioned about how the diocese dealt with the claims for redress by victims.

The commission heard that Mr Comben's initial response to Mr Campion was supportive and sympathetic but things changed once Mr Campion went public and solicitors became involved.

Mr Comben said his position was that Anglican Church standards and protocols for dealing with sex abuse victims "had become derailed once lawyers became involved".

He agreed that when the issue was played out in the media and sums as large as $4 million were mentioned "we were overwhelmed and adopted a defensive approach".

Earlier the commission heard that the primate of the Anglican Church in Australia, Dr Peter Aspinall, had written to Bishop Keith Slater on December 8, 2006, encouraging him to take on board principles that had emerged "from the painful and prolonged experience in several diocese of dealing with child abuse".

Among the six principles was that victims should be given an assurance they would have recourse to legal advice and court processes at any time and that the "diocese would do nothing to stand in their way".

That principle was omitted from a letter diocesan lawyer Peter Roland wrote to the firm representing 41 claimants on December 14, 2006.

Dr Aspinall had recommended counselling, access to hierarchy and an offer of a formal apology for the harm done.

Dr Aspinall commended this approach to the bishop.

Mr Roland told the commission he was acting on the advice of his client represented by Mr Comben and Bishop Slater.

The commission continues on Monday when Bishop Slater, who has retired from Grafton, is expected to take the stand.