Labor to set up fund for victims of church abuse

By Mark Kenny
Sydney Morning Herald
October 27, 2015

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/labor-to-set-up-fund-for-victims-of-church-abuse-20151026-gkitxr.html

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. Photo by Andrew Meares

Sixty-thousand Australian victims of child sexual and other abuses at the hands of churches will be able to seek financial compensation under a future Labor government with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten set to announce Labor's support for a new "national redress scheme".

Mr Shorten will formally unveil the commitment on Tuesday in Melbourne, pledging $33 million initially even though the bulk of any financial liability would still fall on the religious institutions themselves.

The proposal reflects a key recommendation of the ongoing Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

While it reflects only a fraction of the estimated $4.01 billion in combined liabilities of a full redress scheme, the policy is likely to be welcomed by victims as it would drive the process of obtaining recompense and provide official recognition of institutional abuse over decades.

"These extraordinary men and women have survived horrific abuse at the hands of institutions that should have been responsible for their care. Labor is committed to ensuring they get the redress they deserve," Mr Shorten said.

"Labor established the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to give the thousands of people affected by these evil crimes an opportunity to finally be heard.

"But we always knew this would only be the start of the process of healing."

Mr Shorten described the creation of the National Redress Scheme as "the next important step" in that journey as he promised that Labor would continue to work with survivors.

The proposal calls for $20 million to establish a National Redress Agency whose structure and functions would be informed by consultative processes under a National Redress Advisory Council.

The balance of the $33 million would go to fund other functions including direct Commonwealth liabilities in the limited number of cases involving Commonwealth entities such as the defence forces.

It would also reflect a limited liability of the Commonwealth as "funder of last resort" where the relevant organisation guilty of past abuses has ceased to exist, thus giving a complainant no entity from which to seek redress.

Mr Shorten said Labor's proposals had been vetted by the Parliamentary Budget Office, and declared all costs would be offset from savings through tougher multinational tax arrangements. reduced superannuation tax concessions for the well off, and the abolition of the $2.55 billion Emissions Reduction Fund.

Labor argues its redress scheme would go a long way to recognising the enormous suffering of individuals no matter where they are now, based on the idea that abuse cannot be distinguished by state, religion, institution, diocese, or parish.

It would pay out whether victims were subject to crimes which had occurred in multiple institutions, whether private or government, and whether the institution even exists now.

Under its plan, the National Redress Advisory Council would incorporate survivor advocacy and support groups, non-government institutions, including those likely to be paying out, experts in psychological and legal issues, and experts in dealing with marginalised communities.

It has been based on similar redress schemes in Ireland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Queensland.