Sex abuse royal commission funds redirected to home insulation inquiry

By Daniel Hurst
Guardian (UK)
May 27, 2014

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/28/sex-abuse-royal-commission-funds-redirected-to-home-insulation-inquiry

George Brandis: spokesman says no allocation of funds was made 'which would have the effect of limiting resources available' to the inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Nearly $7m previously earmarked for the royal commission into child sexual abuse has been redirected into the Abbott government's $20m inquiry into Labor's home insulation scheme.

The attorney general, George Brandis, had previously denied that funding for the insulation royal commission had been offset by cuts to any other royal commission.

Brandis told a parliamentary committee hearing in February he understood the funding for the insulation royal commission had been "absorbed by the department itself" and "no money has been taken away from anywhere else". But he vowed at the time to take the question on notice.

The formal answer provided to the Senate estimates committee shows the Attorney General's Department, the Department of the Environment and the Department of Industry each contributed $6.7m for the home insulation royal commission, while the Finance Department provided $1m.

The Attorney General's Department confirmed "$4m was redirected from savings achieved in the 2013-14 capital budget of the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse (RCIRCSA) and $2.7m was redirected from funding provided to the department and not required in 2013-14 for financial assistance for legal costs and related expenses for witnesses to the RCIRCSA".

The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, accused Brandis of trying to conceal where the funding for his royal commission into the home insulation program came from.

"Senator Brandis needs to explain when the decision to divert this funding was made and why he has been hiding that decision from Australians," Dreyfus said.

A spokesman for Brandis said the royal commission into child sexual abuse would have sufficient funds to complete its inquiry. He said no allocation of funds had been made "which would have the effect of limiting resources available" to that royal commission.

Labor has previously accused the government of being politically motivated in launching an inquiry into the home insulation scheme, which had already been examined by other bodies including by the Queensland coroner's court. Four people died while installing insulation under the program.

The inquiry has been examining how risks were managed and has reviewed cabinet documents from the former government. High-profile witnesses to the inquiry have included the former prime minister Kevin Rudd.