Don't let budget 'emergency' overshadow child abuse inquiry, The Age (May 25, 2014)

While it is self-evident the current government has many issues, the bulk of which seem to be financial, it should be careful not to lose sight of its responsibility to address a much broader range of community concerns than just the budget bottom line.

One of those concerns is the tragic issue of child abuse within a wide range of organisations including the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army and others. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse will hold a hearing in Canberra 15 days from now, having already conducted public hearings in most other states. While the public hearing will be limited to matters affecting the Marist Brothers, its chief executive officer, Janette Dines, has confirmed to this paper that it has already held 47 private sessions here after receiving more than 500 calls.

Nationally, there have been 12 public hearings and 1600 private sessions (in which the commissioners travel to the complainant if necessary) since the commission was established last May. The telephone hotline has logged about 12,000 calls, or close on 30 a day, since it was established at the beginning of last year.

At this stage, the commission’s mandate is due to expire in December. Unless the government grants an extension, and the funding needed for what is a necessarily costly process, its good works will cease. There is no question this would not be a good outcome. To allow this body to lapse would be to betray the trust already invested in it by many thousands of people in the hope that lasting change may be brought about.

The Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Royal Commission, which also exposed a litany of human woe and frequently dealt with issues of powerlessness, humiliation, shame and tragically foreshortened lives, took four years (from 1987 to 1991) to run its course and there is still concern not all the issues it raised have been addressed.

It would seem absurd, therefore, to assume that this commission can process a far greater number of incidents drawn from right across the country and touching all races and denominations in less than half that time. When the commission formally came into being in May 2013 it enjoyed bipartisan support from the then Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott. Since that point, an impressive volume of work has been done, capable staff recruited and good relations forged with many of the groups and organisations now under the microscope.

Mr Abbott, who is not without some knowledge and understanding of the complex challenges facing religious institutions and who has a personal affinity with the Catholic faith, would know the modern church hierarchy is committed to working closely with the commissioners and has welcomed their activities. Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Christopher Prowse, put it well on Friday when he told this newspaper: “(the commission) has been very helpful in making the church face up to sad and criminal acts”.

Ms Dines said the commission is now just over a month away from handing down its interim report; a substantial document that will review the work that has already been done, what could be done if its mandate were to expire at the end of 2014 and, more importantly, what needs to be done to fulfil the terms of reference and how long that would take.

It would be a real disappointment if, after getting off to an excellent start, the commission’s vital work in trying to prevent any future repetition of the mistakes of the past were to be curtailed in the name of the “budget emergency”.

The “institutional responses” commission is exactly what its name states; a sophisticated and far reaching investigation into how, after dark, secretive and evil crimes were committed, the institutions responsible for the criminals bungled their responses to the victims so badly. It must be allowed to complete its mission.