'Bring sex abuse inquiry to Tasmania', by Doug Dingwall, Advocate (February 19, 2014)

A ROYAL commission investigating child sex abuse should schedule Tasmanian hearings to give survivors the chance to voice their experiences.

That's according to Braddon Greens MHA Paul "Basil" O'Halloran, who is calling for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to schedule hearings in Tasmania.

The commission is yet to schedule any Tasmanian public hearings.

The North-West should host at least one hearing given the sexual abuse that has occurred in the region, Mr O'Halloran said.

Among recent cases, former Marist College teacher and priest Roger Michael Bellemore was found guilty in February 2008 of three counts of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person under the age of 17.

He abused three boys at Marist College in the 1960s and 70s.

Catholic priest Gregory Laurence Ferguson was sentenced to three years' jail in December 2007 for molesting a 12-year-old boy while a teacher at Marist College in the 1970s.

Former international cricket umpire Steve Randall was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 1999 after being convicted of 15 charges of indecent assault against girls while employed at the college during the 1970s.

"A lot needs to be disclosed about what happened to these paedophiles when children or parents reported them," Mr O'Halloran said.

"People need to be able to voice a wrong that has been done to them."

Child sex abuse survivors have to fly to the mainland to give evidence at the Royal Commission, he said.

This removes them from their support base during the stress of reliving their abuse, Mr O'Halloran said.

"It's quite confronting for people to do this in the first place," he said.

"I honestly couldn't think of anything more traumatic."

The legacy of child sex abuse around the North- West was seen in mental health problems, addiction and family breakdown, Mr O'Halloran said.

A former ward of the state based at Ulverstone who experienced abuse, and can't be named for legal reasons, said obstacles to sex abuse survivors telling their stories should be removed.

"We're trying to get society to learn from the mistakes of the past, but they don't seem to be hearing that," he said.

"The commission should be coming here and hearing people's stories."

Anyone looking for help in contacting the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse can call Find & Connect on 1300 364 277.

The commission was contacted for comment.