Betrayal of Trust report: Victorian Government yet to move on abuse recommendations

By Jessica Longbottom
ABC News
May 11, 2015

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-10/victorian-government-yet-to-move-on-abuse-recommendations/6457636

The Betrayal of Trust report was tabled in Parliament in November, 2013.

The Victorian Government is yet to implement half the recommendations made in the landmark Betrayal of Trust report into sex abuse, a year after the previous government committed to them.

The report was handed down in 2013, following a parliamentary inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations.

The main concern of sex abuse survivors is the stalling of a redress scheme for victims, which would be funded by organisations accused of abuse, but run by the State Government.

At the moment, survivors must go back to the organisation where they were abused to receive compensation.

Survivor Andrew Collins said that system was not working.

"To say 'okay if you want any sort of compensation, go back to the entity where you're abused and throw yourself at their mercy and just hope and pray they'll give you whatever scraps you can get', there's no justice, there's no justice," he said.

The Government had been waiting for the outcome of the federal Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse to see if a redress scheme would be set up.

But in March, the Federal Government said it would not administer a scheme.

"Now that there is no hope for a federal scheme, once again that's just absolutely shot people's hopes down," Mr Collins said.

"For a long time we've been led along, something will be done, something will be done, but now nothing."

Greens MP Colleen Hartland said the previous coalition government, and now the current Labor Government, have failed to act.

"You look at Ireland. It took 10 years [to set up a redress scheme]," she said.

"Can these people actually wait another 10 years before this issue is actually dealt with? Many of them won't be alive in 10 years."

Victorian Attorney-General Martin Pakula said work was being completed on establishing a state-administered redress scheme and the Government was committed to implementing all the Betrayal of Trust recommendations.

Mr Pakula said a consultation paper canvassing various models of a scheme would be released mid-year.

But he would not put a timeline on when the scheme would be up and running.

"All I can say is that we are working towards that as quickly as we can," he said.

"We do not want to take any longer than is necessary to do so, but we want to make sure we get it right.

"We've made a commitment to implement all the recommendations of Betrayal of Trust [report] and we will."

Recommendations to give new powers to an independent statutory body to monitor current organisations dealing with children have also not been implemented.

The Government said it would give the Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP) new powers to help organisations build strategies to prevent child abuse, introduce new child safety standards for organisations, and scrutinise child safety systems within organisations.

The CCYP was also to start a register of all allegations and findings of child abuse within organisations.

However Commissioner for Children and Young People, Bernie Geary, said apart from a few meetings, nothing has been set up.

"The commission hasn't been given resources or the official go ahead to proceed with this recommendation," Mr Geary said.

"We would obviously need more resources and a dedicated team if we were to proceed."

But Mr Pakula indicated that was not currently being considered.

"Certainly if [Mr Gearie] has concerns about the resourcing that's been provided to him, then certainly the Government will take those concerns seriously," he said.

"But that's not a conversation he's had with me."