Abuse survivor advocates push for national redress scheme in lead-up to election day

By Emily Bourke
ABC News
June 27, 2016

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-27/push-for-national-redress-scheme-ahead-of-election-day/7548532

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended a national redress scheme.

Advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse are ramping up their campaign for a national redress scheme ahead of this weekend's federal election.The establishment of a national redress scheme was a key recommendation handed down by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The Commission stated that a national redress scheme could help compensate 60,000 child abuse victims.

But one of the peak organisations representing abuse victims has said only the Greens and Labor parties have put forward any funding commitments for such a scheme.

The Coalition has said it supports a national, consistent approach as recommended by the Royal Commission, but has not yet made any formal funding commitment.

Leonie Sheedy from advocacy group CLAN told PM "they have a national consistent approach, which means that they said they would get all the states and territories together for a talk fest, to sing kumbaya."

"Since then, they announced that in January three states have pulled out: Tasmania, Western Australia, and South Australia.

"So there is no national consistent approach, we actually call it the 'national inconsistent approach.'"

Labor has said that, if elected, it will establish a National Redress Agency in the first half of 2017.

The Greens have also announced a plan which they say is fully costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office.

Ms Sheedy is frustrated the Coalition has not yet taken action.

"The Greens have committed over $200 million to a child abuse redress scheme, the Labor Party has committed $33 million to a redress plan," she said.

"The Catholic Church has $1 billion to contribute to that national redress scheme; however, there is no agency to accept that contribution."

A spokesperson for the Federal Attorney-General said the Coalition was committed to establishing a national framework of consistent principles underpinning redress schemes run by states and territories.

And last month the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet established a Taskforce on Redress.

Ms Sheedy said survivors were especially disappointed, and even felt betrayed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, as he himself is patron of CLAN.

"He apologised to us on the 16th November, 2009," she said.

"He said the words, 'the churches, the charities, and the Government failed you'. Well now, Malcolm, you're failing us now.

"We put our trust in you and you have abandoned us and you've ignored us.

"People, really, they had a sense of hope when he became the Prime Minister, but they certainly do not have that now. They are gutted."

In what are now the final days of the election campaign, Ms Sheedy said her organisation would be out in force in marginal seats.

But Blue Knot Foundation (formerly known as ASCA) director and president, Dr Cathy Kezelman, said her organisation would prefer this was not a political issue.

"Because, really, this is an issue that affects all Australians, and it needs to have cross-party support," Ms Kezelman said.

"We have been in conversations with all of the parties, and are aware that there has been a taskforce formed within the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and we know that they are reconsidering things.

"We're hopeful that once they've looked at all the facts, that they will make the right decision and come out in support of the single, national redress scheme."

Ms Kezelman said it was a concern that the Coalition had not put any funding commitments forward in the lead-up to the federal election.

"Obviously it's a concern that this hasn't been fully costed, however, our discussions are ongoing ... we are very hopeful that when they have considered things fully, that there will be a full commitment," she said.

"When you're looking at just the pure economics, the cost of not providing the right support to survivors is significant and we did an economic report last year, which showed the cost of not providing the right support for adult survivors of childhood trauma is $9.1 billion per annum.

"So, if we're looking purely economically, this is an economic issue as well."